Clinic ng Bayan: The people's healthcare center

MANILA, Philippines - Cubao is indeed famous for a variety of easy-on-the-pocket products, whether at the Farmers Market or the retail stores or eateries and tiangges. Soon, Cubao will also be known for affordable healthcare services.

We heard about this clinic from relatives so we checked it out. It’s located in the heart of Cubao along Aurora Boulevard, right across from Gateway Mall near the public rail transits and bus, jeep, and tricycle stations. You can’t miss the sign in front of the Diamond Arcade: Clinic Ng Bayan. We found out this is a new private clinic that offers an array of gold standard medical services at probably the most affordable costs. For example, consultation fee is only 250 as compared to P700 in most hospitals.

As we climbed up the steps to the reception area, we noticed the refreshingly clean ambiance. The general manager, Chona Bernardo, invited us to a tour of the 412-square- meter facility that includes spacious rooms for dental, ob gyne, IM/cardiology, X-ray, EENT, drug testing, occupational heath, and pediatric services, a fully stacked pharmacy, and a diagnostic laboratory. The clinic is programmed to handle annual physical examination requirements, occupational and community health services, and minor surgeries.

There are more than 30 medical practitioners, specialists, and nurses affiliated with this fully-equipped one-stop clinic to ensure that every patient’s medical need can be attended to.  The clinic maintains an electronic medical record (EMR) of each patient that physicians can look up easily using their smart devices, enabling faster treatments and services. Clinic ng Bayan also helps companies organize activities for their individual corporate responsibility programs, specifically sponsored medical missions.  

It is reassuring that Clinic ng Bayan is the shared vision of former Health Secretary Dr. Jaime Galvez Tan and TAO Corporation president Jun Sy who aimed to bring first-class medical services to low-income Filipinos. “We at TAO Corporation believe that every Filipino deserves equal access to quality healthcare and facilities, which is why we decided to put up Clinic ng Bayan,” says Dr. Tan.

Dr. Tan tells us that he has heard countless complaints from patients who have experienced long queues, poor facilities and, worse, mediocre service from health centers and public hospitals. “Clinic Ng Bayan can help decongest public hospitals in Metro Manila. We’ve decided to start with outpatient care because 90 percent of medical needs do not involve hospitalization,” he points out.

With Dr. Tan’s extensive experience in both public and private healthcare and the clinic’s acquisition of high quality medical equipment, laboratory disposables, and other medical devices, Clinic ng Bayan is set to change the way Filipinos view private healthcare.

Clinic ng Bayan is run by Tao Corporation, the holdings firm behind established health-oriented companies. Aside from Dr. Tan, sitting on its board are luminaries in the fields of business and medicine, among them, NewMarketlink Corporation president Dr. Francis Gomez and Ateneo School of Medicine and Public Health professor Dr. Roberto Tanchanco.

For more information about the Clinic ng Bayan, call 709-4142.