MALASAKIT. Ronald Patrick Sesma (center left) of San Juan Movement for Change Credit and Savings Cooperative receives on Thursday (Dec. 15, 2022) a PHP20,000 check as medical assistance from the officials of Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) with Senator Christopher Lawrence Go (center right). Sesma is among the 16 first batch beneficaries of Program on Medical Assistance for Cooperatives launched at CDA office in Cubao, Quezon City. (PNA photo by Ben Briones)
MANILA – A total of 16 individuals from different cooperatives were chosen as the first beneficiaries of the Program on Medical Assistance for Cooperatives (PMAC), which was launched on Thursday under a partnership between Cooperative Development Authority (CDA) and the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).
Assistant Secretary Myrla Paradillo noted in her message during the launching held at the CDA offic in Quezon City that it is a timely program given the realization brought about by the pandemic and how important it is to have financial assistance programs that will help their indigent and low income cooperative-members gain access to quality healthcare.
"Through the Malasakit Cooperative Program, which is a product of a fruitful collaboration between the CDA and the PCSO, the authority shall be able to provide financial assistance to eligible cooperative members in order to augment the cost of hemodialysis, hospital confinement, chemo-drugs, specialty medicines, and other medical needs," Paradillo said.
"Malasakit (compassion)", she said, is evident in concrete steps that the CDA take for those who need or might need assistance.
Both PCSO and CDA signed a memorandum of agreement on March 7, 2022 to allot some of the charity proceeds of lotto draws and Sweepstakes Partner Tayo sa Kawanggawa to CDA which shall provide medical and assistance to qualified members of micro or small cooperatives with health-related problems.
"The PMAC is a program of cooperative members who need our help and now for those who might be needing help in the future. It is only in developing and implementing programs like this that we are able to be true to our identity and mission as a service-oriented agency geared toward the betterment of our cooperative members," Paradillo added.
The beneficiaries, who must be considered an indigent, should also be endorsed by their cooperatives.
Senator Christopher Lawrence Go, who chairs the Senate Committee on Health, graced the event and vowed to support cooperatives in the country.
"Salamat po sa inyong inisyatibo, itong malasakit sa mga kooperatiba, nakakatulong po ito. Gusto ko ring pasalamatan ang mga kasamahan ko sa senado, kay Senate President Migz Zubiri sa kanyang Republic Act 11364, itong CDA law na naisabatas noong (Thank you for your initiative, this compassion for cooperatives, this will really help. I also want to thank my colleagues in the Senate, to Senate President Migz Zubiri in his Republic Act 11364, this CDAlLaw which was passed in the) 17th Congress," Go said.
CDA announced that more indigent cooperative members will receive medical assistance starting next year. (PNA)
