Senator Christopher “Bong” Go assisted 283 recovering fire victims at the Cagayan de Oro City Hall Ground Quadrangle last Thursday, 19 October.
Go’s team provided the beneficiaries with shirts, masks, vitamins, snacks and balls for basketball and volleyball. There is also a select recipient of a pair of shoes from the senator.
In coordination with the National Housing Authority, through its Emergency Housing Assistance Program which Go advocated for and continues to support, the beneficiaries also received financial assistance for housing materials.
Go cited his filed Senate Bill 193, or the proposed Mandatory Evacuation Center Act, which aims to ensure the availability of permanent, safe, and well-equipped evacuation centers in every city, municipality, and province across the country.
Go, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, encouraged those with medical concerns to visit the Malasakit Centers located at Northern Mindanao Medical Center and J.R. Borja General Hospital in the city.
Signed into law in 2019, the Malasakit Centers Act, which was principally authored and sponsored by Go, institutionalized the Malasakit Centers program to ensure that indigent patients have convenient access to medical assistance programs offered by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.
Meanwhile, Go reiterated his commitment to support the establishment of more Super Health Centers across the country, considering how they can significantly help reduce hospital occupancy rates while bringing basic medical services closer to the grassroots.
In Misamis Oriental, necessary funds were allocated to construct Super Health Centers in Gingoog City, Binuangan, Libertad, Balingasag, Claveria, Initao and Tagoloan. There will also be six other Super Health Centers in Cagayan de Oro City.
Through the collective efforts of fellow lawmakers, sufficient funds have been allocated for 307 Super Health Centers in 2022 and 322 in 2023. DOH, the lead implementing agency, identifies the strategic areas where these will be constructed.
On Wednesday, 18 October, Cebu City held a groundbreaking for the city’s new Super Health Center in Barangay Labangon as part of the local and national government’s commitment to make healthcare more accessible to its residents.
For his part, Go emphasized the importance of providing vital healthcare services, especially in remote and underprivileged communities, and underscored the suitability of Super Health Centers in addressing their basic healthcare needs.
Go lauded how the Malasakit Center stood as a pillar of support as it paved the way for life-saving heart surgery for 29-year-old Mohammad Abdelrashid Juhuri, a devoted teacher from Maimbung, Sulu.
Mohammad’s life took an unexpected turn in 2017 when a diagnosis of congenital heart disease threatened his dream of becoming a mechanical engineer. The heart ailment was not a mere medical diagnosis but a life-changer.
Also Wednesday, Go’s outreach team conducted a relief operation for various sectoral groups at the Brgy. Mintal Gymnasium in Davao City.
Go’s team distributed masks, vitamins, shirts, and balls for basketball and volleyball to 500 beneficiaries. They also gave away shoes, watch, and mobile phone to select recipients.