IN a video message during his Malasakit Team’s relief effort for fire victims in General Santos City on Tuesday, January 9, Senator Christopher “Bong” Go emphasized the importance of proactive strategies to mitigate fire incidents.
Go highlighted that the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) is currently undergoing a ten-year modernization program following the enactment of the BFP Modernization Act of 2021 to ensure that it is better prepared and equipped to respond to fire-related incidents.
The BFP modernization program, as outlined in Republic Act 11589, which was principally authored and co-sponsored by Go in the Senate, calls for the provision of specialized training, the hiring of additional firemen, and the purchase of new fire apparatus, among other things.
“Sana po’y walang nasaktan, importante sa akin na walang nasaktan. Tandaan natin, ang gamit po’y nabibili naman. Ang pera po’y kikitain natin subalit ‘yung perang kikitain ay hindi po nabibili ang buhay. A lost life is a lost life forever. Kaya pangalagaan natin ang buhay na binigay sa atin ng Panginoon,” Go emphasized.
Go’s Malasakit Team held the relief activity along Velasquez Street in Barangay Dadiangas North where they distributed financial assistance, snacks, grocery packs, water containers, shirts, vitamins, masks, and balls for volleyball and volleyball to six affected families. There was also a select recipient of a watch.
Meanwhile, a team from the National Housing Authority assessed the fire victims if they could qualify for housing assistance through the Emergency Housing Assistance Program (EHAP).
EHAP is dedicated to offer assistance to families affected by disasters like fires, typhoons, and earthquakes, who have suffered the loss of their homes. According to Go who advocated for the sustained execution of EHAP, the program can ensure that disaster-impacted families receive essential support to reconstruct their homes.
The senator also extended further support to individuals with health concerns, urging them to seek assistance at the Malasakit Center located at Dr. Jorge P. Royeca Hospital in the city or South Cotabato Provincial Hospital in nearby Koronadal City.
The Malasakit Center is a one-stop shop where concerned agencies, such as the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, are brought under one roof to assist indigent patients with their medical expenses.
Go is the principal author and sponsor of RA 11463 or the Malasakit Centers Act of 2019, which institutionalized the Malasakit Centers program.
According to the DOH, the 159 present centers have helped more or less ten million Filipinos nationwide.
“Kung meron ho kayong pasyente at kailangan po ng tulong sa pagpapaospital, magsabi lang ho kayo. Tutulungan ho namin kayo, hanggang makabalik kayo sa inyong pamamahay,” he encouraged.
As the vice chairperson of the Senate Committee on Finance, Go supported the construction of the new Outpatient Department Building at Dr. Jorge P. Royeca Hospital, which held its groundbreaking ceremony last January 4.
Meanwhile, Go also mentioned that the government has allocated funds for the establishment of more than 700 Super Health Centers nationwide including two in General Santos City.
The Super Health Centers will offer a range of healthcare services, including database management, out-patient, birthing, isolation, diagnostic (laboratory: x-ray, 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 which remote diagnosis and treatment of patients are made possible.
“Ang kagandahan nito early detection at magagamit ito sa pagbigay ng primary care at pagkokonsulta, and it will help decongest the hospital dahil pwede na pong gamutin dito. At ilalagay po ito sa mga strategic areas. Ilalagay nila sa isang barangay kung saan po’y makaka-access ‘yung mga kababayan natin,” Go pointed out.
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 supported more projects in the city, such as the construction of multipurpose buildings; construction of revetment along Makar River, Tinagacan-Buayan River, and Sinawal River; and the acquisition of a mini dump truck.
The Malasakit Team of the senator assisted more fire victims at the General Santos City Hall on the same day.