106th Malasakit Center opens in Iloilo

Sen. Bong Go virtually attended the launch of the country’s 106th Malasakit Center at the Don Jose S. Monfort Medical Center Extension Hospital in Barotac Nuevo, Iloilo on Tuesday.

In his speech, Go admitted that the country’s hospitals are overwhelmed by the number of patients seeking medical attention amid the COVID-19 pandemic even as he vowed to push for measures to boost the capacity of health facilities and improve access to public health services.

“Witness ako doon. Napakaraming hospitals ang kulang ang hospital beds. Wala pa ang pandemyang ito, nakikita ko nakalinya na ang mga kama sa labas ng corridor, ang mga batang pasyente nagtatabi sa isang kama,” he said.

“I am here to give my support to increase the bed capacity of our public hospitals. I am very willing to help para mapabilis at mapirmahan agad ni Presidente Duterte ang mga kailangang batas,” Go said.

He acknowledged the need to support medical frontliners as the number of new infections remains high in critical areas.

Go had earlier urged the government to take necessary steps to avoid further delay in the conduct of professional board exams, particularly for nursing graduates.

“Nakausap ko ang Inter-Agency Task Force at last week pumayag na sila na bigyan ng priority yung mga personnel at examiners ng Professional Regulation Commission para hindi maantala lalo ang nursing board exams,” the senator said.