COVERED. The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC) distributes the Membership Data Form (MDR) of persons with disability from the municipality of Tibiao on Thursday (July 26, 2023). Provincial Disability Affairs Office (PDAO) assistant head Edison Sta. Romana said two municipalities in Antique have already registered all their PWD residents with the national registry as of Thursday. (PNA photo courtesy of PDAO-PSWDO Antique)
SAN JOSE DE BUENAVISTA, Antique – Two of the 18 municipalities of Antique have registered all their physically-challenged residents with the national registry, assuring them of privileges afforded by the government to the sector.
Edison Sta. Romana, Provincial Disability Affairs Office (PDAO) assistant head under the Provincial Social Welfare and Development Office (PSWDO), said 643 persons with disability (PWD) residents of the municipality of Belison and 607 of Libertad town are registered with the Philippine Registry of PWD.
They already formed part of the 13,039 PWDs included in the national database as of July 27, 2023.
“Registration with the Philippine Registry of PWD is necessary for them to be covered by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PHIC) through its Universal Healthcare Law,” Sta. Romana said in an interview on Thursday.
Under the Universal Health Care Law, they can avail of free medicines and hospital treatment.
They can also avail of aid to individuals in crisis situations (AICS) and educational scholarships provided by the provincial government.
“The province based on our house-to-house profiling has 17,403 PWDs, but only 13,039 PWDs have been registered with the Philippine Registry of PWD as of July 27,” Sta. Romana said.
The house-to-house profiling and empowerment advocacy to reach out to PWDs, especially those living in far-flung areas, started early this year.
Through the initiative, they not only encouraged PWDs to register but also to accept their physical challenges.
“The remaining 4,364 PWDs who have not yet registered either have no internet connection in their places, or they are still seeking the assistance of their PWD municipal focal persons for their registration,” Sta. Romana said.
He added that on July 26, the state health insurance released the membership data form (MDR) of nine PWDs during the National Disability Prevention and Rehabilitation Week celebration of the municipality of Tibiao.
The PHIC has released over 100 MDRs to registered PWDs throughout the province as proof of their insurance coverage since 2022. (PNA)
