SENATOR Christopher “Bong” Go, head of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, praised the local authorities of Balo-i, Lanao del Norte, led by Governor Angging Dimaporo and Mayor Hanifa Ali, for the successful groundbreaking of its Super Health Center in Barangay West Poblacion on Thursday, March 14.
In his message, Go emphasized that creating Super Health Centers nationwide, especially in underprivileged regions, is a key step in enhancing public health services at the community level. He highlighted that these centers aim to bridge the gap between the government and the Filipino people.
“Isinulong ko po talaga ang pagpapatayo ng mga Super Health Centers sa buong Pilipinas dahil alam ko po kung gaano ninyo kailangan na mapalapit sa inyo ang serbisyong medikal ng gobyerno,” cited Go.
‘‘Yung mga nasa probinsiya po, lalo na ‘yung mga nasa liblib na lugar, ‘yun po ang target na tayuan ng mga Super Health Centers. Para po masiguro na hindi na po nila kailangan lumayo at gumastos ng malaki para lang makapagpagamot,” he added.
The Super Health Center is an improved version of the rural health unit. It offers health services, including database management, out-patient, birthing, isolation, diagnostic (laboratory: x-ray and ultrasound), pharmacy, and ambulatory surgical unit. Other available services are eye, ear, nose, and throat (EENT) service, oncology centers, physical therapy and rehabilitation centers, and telemedicine.
Through the collective efforts of fellow lawmakers, sufficient funds have been allocated for more than 700 Super Health Centers. DOH, led by Secretary Teodoro “Ted” Herbosa, is the lead implementing agency that identifies the strategic areas where they will be constructed. In the province, seven Super Health Centers were funded.
During the groundbreaking, Go’s Malasakit Team delivered grocery packs, shirts, and balls for basketball and volleyball to select barangay health workers.
In addition to setting up Super Health Centers, the senator reiterated his push for the passage two key legislative proposals to enhance the country’s readiness for public health crises.
Considering how the pandemic became an eye-opener for the government to strengthen its healthcare system, Go refiled the bills that seek to establish the Virology Science and Technology Institute of the Philippines (VIP) and the Philippine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC is envisioned to be the lead agency for developing communicable disease control and prevention initiatives. It will primarily control the introduction and spread of infectious diseases in the country. Some of its primary functions will include policy and standards development, disease detection and surveillance, data collection and analytics, public health communications, and research and evidence synthesis.
Meanwhile, if enacted into law, the proposed Virology Institute will serve as the principal laboratory of the country in providing virology laboratory investigations, research, and technical coordination of the entire network of virology laboratories nationwide. The proposed law will provide guidelines for establishing and operating testing, reference, and biosafety Levels 1, 2, 3, and 4 research laboratories throughout the country.
Go also offered to help those in need of medical care and encouraged them to seek assistance from the government through the Malasakit Center located at Amai Pakpak Medical Center in Marawi City.
A brainchild of Go, the Malasakit Centers program provides one-stop shops designed to help indigent patients with their medical expenses by bringing concerned agencies under one roof, such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health (DOH), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. To date, over ten million Filipinos have benefitted from the 161 Malasakit Centers nationwide, according to DOH.
