Duterte Gov’t Signs Agreement With Two Davao Hospitals For Free Medicine For Indigent Patients
More Filipinos will be able to avail of free medicine in the
coming weeks.
This is after the Department of Social Welfare and Development
(DSWD) signed Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with two more public hospitals.
Late last week, DSWD Secretary Judy M. Taguiwalo led the
signing of MOAs with two hospitals in Davao City for the implementation of “Libreng Gamot para
sa Masa (Lingap sa Masa),” the free medicine assistance program funded under
President Rodrigo R. Duterte’s Socio-Civic Projects Funds.
“Pres. Duterte’s free medicines program will go a long way
towards easing the burdens of many Filipinos who have no means to buy medicine
because they’re too expensive. In the meantime, we need to give as much support
as we can to our public hospitals because they are where our impoverished
kababayans go for much needed medical and health services. One of the key
priorities of good governance is the improvement of public health even as we make
access to other key social services easier for Filipinos,” said Sec. Taguiwalo.
Secretary Taguiwalo, together with Protective Services
Bureau (PSB) Director Alicia Bonoan and DSWD Field Office (FO) XI Director
Mercedita P. Jabagat, inked agreements with Southern Philippines Medical Center
(SPMC) and Davao Regional Medical Center (DRMC) for the provision of free
medicines to indigent patients in Davao Region.
SPMC was represented by Medical Center Chief Dr. Leopoldo J.
Vega and Chief Administrative Officer Ricardo S.D. Justol, while the DRMC was
represented by Medical Center Chief Dr. Bryan O. Dalid.
The MOA signing was conducted during the 66th Anniversary
Celebration of DSWD Field Office XI at Grand Men Seng Hotel in Davao City.
It was witnessed by field office employees and guests
present during the celebration.
FO XI has been allotted P150 million to carry out the
medicine assistance program in Davao Region in partnership with SPMC and DRMC.
The DSWD has earlier signed a MOA with Philippine General
Hospital (PGH) in Manila and Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center (VSMMC) in
Cebu City last February for the provision of free medicines to residents in the
National Capital Region (NCR) and Region VII, respectively.
The “Lingap sa Masa” medicine assistance program is in
response to President Duterte’s directive to give indigent Filipinos access to
free medicines to help them recover from their illnesses.
The program will be initially implemented in five regions,
including NCR and Regions III, VI, VII, and XI.
Once it expands, the DSWD plans to make the assistance
available to all regions.
“We know that in the long run, P150 million will not be
enough to cover all the medicine needs of so many Filipinos in Davao who are
need of medicine assistance, but apart from Lingap Masa, the DSWD also
continues to implement its own medical assistance program through the
Assistance to Individuals in Crisis (AICS) program. Filipinos can continue to
access this through our field offices,” she said.
Source: DSWD.Gov
Duterte Gov’t Signs Agreement With Two Davao Hospitals For Free Medicine For Indigent Patients
Reviewed by Yen
on
March 31, 2017
Rating:
Post a Comment