SENATOR Christopher “Bong” Go, adopted son of CALABARZON, coordinated with Mayor Ramon Orfanel and Vice Mayor Manuel Montano and provided aid to displaced workers in Catanauan, Quezon on Tuesday, December 19.
Held at the Municipal Annex Building, Go’s Malasakit Team provided masks, vitamins, snacks, shirts, and balls for basketball and volleyball to 169 displaced workers. They also distributed a watch and pairs of shoes to select recipients.
The recipients were also eligible for livelihood assistance from the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) through the Tulong Panghanapbuhay sa Ating Disadvantaged/Displaced Workers program.
“Patuloy po tayong magtulungan upang mas mapabuti pa ang kalagayan ng ating mga disadvantaged at displaced workers. Magkasama tayo sa layuning ito na makabuo ng mas maginhawa at mas matatag na lipunan para sa lahat ng Pilipino,” he said.
Go filed Senate Bill No. 420 to address the needs of individuals in rural areas with limited employment options. This bill proposes temporary work opportunities to qualified members of low-income rural families willing to engage in unskilled physical labor for a certain period, should the bill become a law.
The proposed bill would create the Rural Employment Assistance Program (REAP) under the supervision of DOLE. REAP’s main objective is the provision of temporary jobs subject to certain criteria, including economic challenges, poverty, job loss, or seasonal work availability.
As chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, Go also extended further support to those requiring hospital treatment, urging them to utilize the services of the Malasakit Centers located at the Quezon Medical Center in Lucena City or the Maria L. Eleazar General Hospital in Tagkawayan.
Republic Act No. 11463 or the Malasakit Centers Act, signed into law by former president Rodrigo Duterte in 2019, and principally authored and sponsored by Go, aims to provide convenient access to medical assistance programs offered by the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health (DOH), Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office to poor and indigent patients.
According to the DOH, there are now 159 Malasakit Centers nationwide, which have assisted more or less ten million Filipinos.
Go continues to focus on improving access to healthcare in local communities. Working in collaboration with the DOH and local government units, he and other lawmakers have strongly supported the creation of multiple Super Health Centers nationwide, including several located in the province.
The Super Health Center is an enhanced version of the rural health unit, offering a wide range of health services such as database management, outpatient care, birthing facilities, isolation areas, diagnostic services (including laboratory tests, X-rays, and ultrasounds), pharmacy services, and ambulatory surgical units.
Additionally, these centers provide services such as eye, ear, nose, and throat (EENT) care, oncology centers, physical therapy and rehabilitation centers, and telemedicine, enabling remote patient diagnosis and treatment.
Go is also the principal sponsor and one of the authors of RA 11959 or the Regional Specialty Centers Act. The law mandates the establishment of Regional Specialty Centers within existing DOH regional hospitals nationwide.
Go, vice chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, supported various projects including the construction of slope protection systems along the Lagnas River, the establishment of the Sariaya Bypass, the rehabilitation of a bridge on the provincial road, the implementation of a potable water system, and the concreting of roads at the New Local Government Complex.
