‘Malasakit Center’ gets funding

CEBU CITY – Stakeholders thanked the government for its P50million support to the Malasakit Center here which President Rodrigo Duterte earlier pledged during one of his visits in Cebu.

Special Assistant to the President Bong Go personally delivered and handed the funding recently to Dr. Gerardo Aquino Jr., chief of the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) and Department of Health (DOH) Central Visayas Director Jaime Bernadas.

The money is intended to help indigent patients needing financial assistance for medication, diagnostic examinations, and payment for hospital bills.

The Malasakit Center is a one-stop shop staffed by representatives from the DOH, Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (Philhealth), Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp (Pagcor).

It was conceived in response to the President’s earnest desire to help the poor who are in need of medical attention, Go said, adding, the one-stop shop center is similar to the program they have in Davao City, where patients can easily process their request for financial aid either from the DOH, DSWD, Philhealth, PCSO, or Pagcor.

“The President told me to talk with (Presidential Assistant for the Visayas) Mike (Dino) and see if we can implement this program nationwide. So, I talked with Mike and told him about this program initiated by Mayor Sara (Duterte-carpio) in Davao. Thus, Malasakit was born,” Go said.

Dino, who also graced the turnover, said the Malasakit Center in Cebu is the pilot area for the program in the Visayas and he hopes the program will be replicated around the country.

“For the time being, we have this one-stop desk at the VSMMC, and we have catered to the needs of 10,944 indigent patients and have shelled out about PHP55 million in financial assistance, so far. If this program becomes successful, hopefully, we can replicate this around the country,” Dino said.

Go assured Dino the government will replenish the PHP50 million immediately once it has all been spent.

Also present at the turnover were Foreign Affairs Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III, Department of Trade and Industry Secretary Ramon Lopez, and Communications Secretary Martin Andanar.