ZAMBOANGA CITY — The Office of the Special Assistant to the President (OSAP) is set to establish a “Malasakit Center” in this city for easier access to health services, especially for poor families.
Special Assistant to the President Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go made this announcement Monday night as he keynoted the opening of the Zamboanga Hermosa Festival, the highlight of which is on October 12 — feast day of Our Lady of the Pillar.
Go said the center will be established in a government hospital with complete facilities.
The government hospital with complete facilities here is the Zamboanga City Medical Center (ZCMC), located some 200 meters away from this city’s commercial center.
Aside from this city, the ZCMC also serves patients from nearby areas of the Region 9 (Zamboanga Peninsula), including three provinces of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.
Go said he wanted the “Malasakit Center” here to be operational before the end of this year.
“This (Malasakit Center) will cater to the patients from Zamboanga City and neighboring provinces na nangangailagan ng pampagamot (who need medical attention),” he added.
He said the “Malasakit Center” will be a one-stop-shop of government agencies that provide assistance to patients such as the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Department of Health, Department of Social Welfare and Development, and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth).
There will also be an express lane for senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs)
“With this (express lane), they will no longer have to go through a long queue and passed on from one office to the other,” he added.
He added the only requirement to avail of the services of the “Malasakit Center” is that “you must be a Filipino citizen.”
The “Malasakit Center” has already been established in other parts of the country like in Manila, Cebu, Iloilo, Davao, and Tacloban. (R. G. Antonet Go/PNA)
