Tingog Party-list has lauded President Rodrigo Duterte for signing into law the Universal Health Care Act, saying that this is concrete proof of his malasakit (compassion) for ordinary Filipinos as well as his pro-people development agenda.
“Thanks to this new law, millions of Filipinos will now have access to quality and affordable health care services especially in rural communities,” said Tiingog party-list second nominee Philip Jude Acidre.
“The Universal Health Care Act is clearly a giant step in ensuring quality health care services for the Filipino people. But so much more has yet to be done. We must ensure that affordable healthcare facilities are available, and that preventive and primary health care interventions are given the attention and resources that they need,” Acidre added.
As part of its legislative agenda, the Tingog nominee reiterated that they will move for a “wider health care services through the institutionalization of private-public partnerships in the health care sector and the closer integration of both government and private healthcare institutions into a single healthcare delivery system.”
Acidre said they will push for this plan once they will secure seats in Congress.
“We will also champion the establishment of more government hospitals including the Samar Island Medical Center, a proposed government tertiary hospital that will cater to patients in the Samar provinces,” he added.
The signing of the new law guarantees equitable access to quality and affordable health care services for all Filipinos, Duterte said during the signing of the law on February 20 in Malacanang Palace.
Under the Universal Healthcare Act, Filipino citizens are automatically enrolled into the National Health Insurance Program and expanding PhilHealth coverage to include free medical consultations and laboratory tests.
