Senator Christopher “Bong” Go highlighted on Monday, July 10, the importance of strengthening fire prevention measures in communities and delivering prompt aid to the victims of a fire incident in Barangay Pasong Tamo, Quezon City, which affected 55 residents.
Held at the barangay hall of Brgy. Pasong Tamo, his office distributed grocery packs, vitamins, masks, snacks, and shirts to the affected households. They also gave away shoes, bags, and balls for basketball and volleyball to select beneficiaries.
“Ang gamit naman po nabibili natin ‘yan. Ang damit, labhan lang natin ‘pag nadumihan, kung gusto nating bumili ng bagong pantalon, nabibili natin ‘yan. Ang pera po’y kikitain natin ‘yan. Subalit ‘yung perang kikitain ay hindi po nabibili ang buhay kaya mag-ingat tayo parati,” Go said in a video message.
Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development extended financial aid to the victims.
On the same day, Go personally extended his assistance to yet another group of fire victims and impoverished residents in Brgy. Bagabas, Quezon City.
As part of his efforts to bolster fire safety and prevention programs in the country, Go primarily authored and co-sponsored Republic Act No. 11589 or the Bureau of Fire Protection Modernization Act of 2021, to enhance the firefighting capability of the agency.
Under the Act, the bureau is undergoing a ten-year modernization program, which includes acquiring new modern fire equipment, hiring additional personnel, and providing specialized training for firefighters, among others.
Go, chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, also reminded the beneficiaries to look after their health and encouraged them to seek the services of any of the 11 Malasakit Centers in the city.
Initiated by the senator in 2018, the Malasakit Centers program provides one-stop shops where indigent patients may get more convenient access to the medical assistance programs of DSWD, Department of Health, Philippine Health Insurance Corporation, and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office. Go is also the principal author and sponsor of the Malasakit Centers Act of 2019, which institutionalized the program.
In Quezon City, Malasakit Centers are located at the Lung Center of the Philippines, Novaliches District Hospital, Philippine Heart Center, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, East Avenue Medical Center, Veterans Memorial Medical Center, Philippine Orthopedic Center, National Children’s Hospital, Philippine National Police General Hospital, and Quirino Memorial Medical Center. There are now 158 Malasakit Centers nationwide.
Go was also instrumental in pushing for the establishment of Super Health Centers nationwide.
Super Health Centers are designed to make basic health services, such as database management, out-patient, birthing, isolation, diagnostic (laboratory: x-ray, ultrasound), pharmacy, and ambulatory surgical unit, more accessible to Filipino patients. Other available services are eye, ear, nose, and throat (EENT) service; oncology centers; physical therapy and rehabilitation center; and telemedicine, where remote diagnosis and treatment of patients will be done.
Through the support of fellow lawmakers, 307 SHCs were funded in 2022 and 322 more in 2023. DOH has identified six locations for Super Health Centers in Quezon City.
Likewise dedicated to help in the development of Quezon City, Go, as vice chair of the Senate Committee on Finance, supported the construction of several multipurpose buildings, flood control structures, and drainage systems in the city.
He also supported the rehabilitation of the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center and VMMC road networks, road and drainage improvement works along the Quirino Highway and P. Dela Cruz Road, construction of an advanced cardiac catheterization laboratory and expansion of the new emergency room building at the EAMC, and construction of a five-story multipurpose building at Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo.