Muntinlupa fire victims receive needed aid
The relief activity was held at the Alabang Elementary School as the Malasakit Team distributed grocery packs, water containers, snacks, masks, vitamins, meals, shirts, and balls for basketball and volleyball to the affected families
Senator Christopher “Bong” Go’s Malasakit Team coordinated with Alabang barangay captain Christine Abas and aided 75 families in Barangay Alabang in Muntinlupa City last Tuesday.
In his message, the lawmaker stressed his commitment to supporting communities facing crises as he reassured that the government is working diligently to ensure no Filipino is left behind in the recovery process.
Go also expressed gratitude to former President Rodrigo Duterte for fully backing the Bureau of Fire Protection Modernization Act, enacted in 2021 which is seen to better equip the BFP in preventing fire-related incidents.
Under Republic Act 11589 — primarily authored and cosponsored by Go — the BFP is mandated to develop a 10-year modernization fire program that includes acquiring and upgrading fire equipment, recruiting more fire personnel, and providing specialized training, among others.
The relief activity was held at the Alabang Elementary School as the Malasakit Team distributed grocery packs, water containers, snacks, masks, vitamins, meals, shirts and balls for basketball and volleyball to the affected families. They also gave away shoes and a mobile phone to select recipients.
Go — who also chairs the Senate Committee on Health and Demography — reached out to the beneficiaries and their loved ones with health concerns as he encouraged them to visit any of the 159 Malasakit Centers nationwide with 31 in Metro Manila, including the one at the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in the city, if they may need medical assistance from the government to cover their hospital expenses.
Republic Act 11463, or the Malasakit Centers Act of 2019, principally authored and sponsored by Go, aims to provide poor and indigent patients with convenient access to medical assistance programs offered by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation.
To date, there are now 159 Malasakit Centers that have assisted more or less ten million Filipinos nationwide, according to the DoH.
In addition to the Malasakit Centers, Go has strongly advocated establishing Super Health Centers throughout Metro Manila which offer various services, including database management, outpatient care, birthing, isolation, diagnostic (laboratory: X-ray, ultrasound), pharmacy, and ambulatory surgical unit. Other available services are eye, ear, nose, and throat service; oncology centers; physical therapy and rehabilitation centers; and telemedicine, which makes remote diagnosis and treatment of patients possible.
Through the collective efforts of Go, the DoH — led by Secretary Teodoro Herbosa Jr. — local government units, and fellow lawmakers, sufficient funds have been allocated for 307 Super Health Centers in 2022 and 322 in 2023. There will also be 132 Super Health
Centers funded in 2024.