103rd MALASAKIT CENTER. Sen. Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go (fourth from left) leads other government officials in opening the 103rd Malasakit Center in the country and the 6th in Cebu, at the Carcar Provincial Hospial in Carcar City, Cebu on Tuesday (April 27, 2021). Other officials who graced the launching of the one-stop-shop for medical aid processing were Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Secretary Michael Lloyd Dino (third from left), Carcar City Mayor Mercedita Apura (second from left), and Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia (third from right). (Photo courtesy of OPAV)
CEBU CITY – Indigent patients in the south Cebu area can now avail of medical financial assistance after a Malasakit Center was inaugurated on Tuesday at the Carcar Provincial Hospital in Carcar City.
Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go, chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, led other government officials in opening the 6th Malasakit Center in Cebu and the 103rd in the country, which consolidates the services of all government agencies processing financial aid to individuals seeking medical treatment.
Go, who authored Republic Act 11463 or the Malasakit Center Act of 2019, also turned over to Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia a PHP5-million check from the Office of the President.
The fund, he said, will finance the operation of the center in Carcar City.
He said an additional PHP10 million would be downloaded to the said provincial hospital for the Medical Assistance to Indigent Patients (MAIP) program.
Go said the opening of the facility in Carcar will make government aid availment easier for those who are living in the southern area of the province.
“Para dili na sila kinahanglan mobiyahe sa Cebu City. Kadtong mga nanginahanglan og tabang diha sa Carcar puede na sila sa Carcar puede na sila sa Talisay (They would no longer travel to Cebu City just to get the financial assistance. Those who need the assistance, they can either get it in Carcar or Talisay),” the senator said.
The other Malasakit Centers in Cebu can be found at the Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center here, Cebu South Medical Center formerly known as Talisay District Hospital in Talisay City, Eversley Child Sanitarium and General Hospital in Mandaue City, St. Anthony Mother and Child Hospital in Basak-San Nicolas in this city, and Lapu-Lapu City District Hospital in Lapu-Lapu City.
“The Carcar Provincial Hospital can process medical aid from PhilHealth, PCSO, DOH, and DSWD that are willing to help for the patient’s zero balance billing. They have no more bills to pay for their hospitalization,” Go said in Cebuano.
He said more Malasakit Centers will open in other parts of the country, as mandated by law. (PNA)
