Go marks 1 year as senator, vows continued service

MANILA, Philippines — In marking his first year in office as a lawmaker, Sen. Bong Go continues his quest in helping improve various government services.

He admits that the ongoing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought to the open the importance of a responsive and efficient delivery of critical services in the country’s fight against its further spread.

“We need to move fast. That’s why, when I was elected senator, I made sure that our fellow Filipinos will be given fast, efficient and reliable service. It’s what I promised them because I know how hard it is sometimes to seek government help,” Go in Filipino.

He recalled that when he was still working with then Davao City mayor and now President Duterte, they had to assist people from all walks of life and the non-residents who queued up at the mayor’s office for medical and financial assistance.

Although they were cautioned by the Commission on Audit, Duterte instructed Go to do something about the problem, stressing that even if a number of those who sought help were not from Davao, they are still Filipinos and must be given assistance.

At the start of the 18th Congress in July 2019, the senator filed his first bill, which later became the Malasakit Center Act of 2019. The measure seeks to streamline the provision of government medical and financial assistance to Filipinos, regardless of age, sex, ethnic background, religion and political affiliation. There are currently 74 Malasakit Centers nationwide.

Go also filed Senate Bill 202, or the Department of Overseas Filipinos Act of 2019, which seeks to hasten the provision of government services to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) by establishing a central authority responsible for all OFW-related matters and concerns. The proposed department is expected to improve coordination among concerned offices in responding to the needs of overseas Filipinos.

He also saw the need for accessibility of facilities in the face of crisis in filing SB 1228, which mandates the establishment of an evacuation center in every province, city and municipality, and SB 1259 or the “Mandatory Quarantine Facilities Act of 2020,” which mandates the establishment of quarantine facilities in every region – one that is easily accessible to a Department of Health (DOH) hospital and strategically located to ensure the safety of the community.

A localized quarantine facility ensures quicker government response to pandemics, such as the COVID-19 and other contagious diseases.

Go also filed SB 399, which seeks to establish a drug abuse treatment and rehabilitation center in every province under the supervision of the DOH and in support of the government’s campaign against illegal drugs.

To capacitate the health department in streamlining the enhancement of local public hospitals, the also filed SB 1226, or the proposed DOH Hospital Bed Capacity and Service Capability Rationalization Act, which authorizes it to increase the bed capacity and service capability of DOH-retained hospitals.

For swifter government response and to scale up the country’s resilience against the effects of climate change, Go filed SB 205 or the Department of Disaster Resilience Act which aims to create an empowered, highly specialized and responsive DDR with clear unity of command and primarily responsible in ensuring safe, adaptive and disaster-resilient communities.

The department shall concentrate on three key result areas: disaster risk reduction, disaster preparedness and response and recovery and building forward better.

He also filed SB 204, or the Fire Protection Modernization Act of 2019, which provides for the establishment of a Fire Protection Modernization Program to be implemented by the Bureau of Fire Protection. The program will include hiring of more personnel, acquiring modern fire equipment and training for firefighters.

The other bills he authored are already set for committee hearings. One of these is SB 1528, which intends to amend Republic Act 11332, also known as the “Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act.”  The bill will improve government response and enhance disease surveillance and control in the country, such as having better capabilities in conducting more testing and intensive contact tracing in times of pandemics.

The senator also seeks to improve local government unit (LGU) access to funds to improve their public education system through SB 396, which expands the application of the Special Education Fund and gives LGUs the flexibility to boost their support to local public schools and facilitate the transition to blended learning amid the pandemic.

He also seeks to address the sluggish pace of the country’s justice system through SB 1252, which proposes the creation of three additional divisions of the Court of Appeals to allow the court to handle its case load in a more efficient manner, and SB 1254 that proposes the creation of an additional division for the National Labor Relations Commission.