NPA members, drunk drivers excluded from Davao City medical assistance program

DAVAO CITY Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio has issued an order denying members of the communist New People’s Army (NPA) from availing of the local medical assistance program. In a press statement issued Tuesday, the city government announced that the mayor signed the executive order on March 14 amending the coverage of the Lingap para sa Mahirap Program “to further strengthen the program’s processes and to ensure the efficient delivery of its services to qualified residents of Davao City.” In justifying the exclusion of the NPA from the program, Ms. Carpio cited Proclamation No. 947 signed by President Rodrigo R. Duterte in December last year declaring the armed group as terrorists. The local order states that the city government will not fund the hospitalization of those who have suffered “injuries arising from clashes with government troops.”

DRUNK DRIVERS

The order also excludes from the assistance program drivers and passengers injured in vehicular incidents due to violation of laws, among them the failure of wearing helmets, drunk driving, or under the influence of dangerous drugs. “(I)ndividuals who suffer injuries while committing a crime or an offense punishable under existing Philippine laws, rules, and regulations” do not qualify, the order states. Pregnant women, except in medical emergency conditions or suffering complications involving newborns, have also been removed from the list. The national government has various programs for expectant mothers. The Davao City government’s 17-year old Lingap para sa Mahirap Program provides medical assistance, hospital services, food supplements, and burial assistance to residents, particularly indigent families and members of indigenous groups. —