Bong Go hands over P5M fund to hospital run by Drilon’s brod

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines — The Corazon Locsin Montelibano Memorial Regional Hospital (CLMMRH) in Bacolod City on Sunday received P5-million financial assistance from Malacañang through Special Assistant to the President (SAP) Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go.

The hospital is managed by Dr. Julius Drilon, brother of opposition Senator Franklin Drilon — a critic of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration — but Bong Go, together with Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino turned over the fund during the inauguration of the Malasakit Center at the CLMMRH compound.

Julius, medical chief of CLMMRH, thanked Go and the Office of the President for the cash assistance, which Go in turn said can be replenished when fully consumed, upon liquidation by the hospital to Malacañang.

The Malasakit Center — similar to those in Cebu, Iloilo, Tacloban, and Palawan — is a one-stop service center catering the public for their needs on PhilHealth, Departments of Health, and of Social Welfare and Development, Philippine Amusement Gaming Corp (PAGCOR), Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, Office of the President, and Office of the Presidential Assistant for Visayas, among other government-related health agencies.

A Malasakit Center has been instituted to expedite processes in health-related government services, primarily for but not limited to financial assistance for the public. “In serving our fellow Filipinos, President Duterte stressed that it should not be politicized,” Go said.

There are other Malasakit Centers soon to be established in Dumaguete City, Negros Oriental, Maasin town in Iloilo, Davao, the Philippine General Hospital in Metro Manila, and in Pampanga. Go described this center as a way of making health services more convenient and accessible, calling it a “shortcut service you can approach.”

Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia also attended the Malasakit Center inauguration, while Representative Greg Gasataya (Bacolod City) disclosed that the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has proposed, under the 2019 budget, an allocation of P200 million for the rehabilitation of Bacolod-Silay and Iloilo airports.

Go also announced that P667 million was also approved by the Regional Development Council of Western Visayas for the Bacolod-Silay airport. “It only shows that President Duterte treats equally all regions in the implementation of infrastructure projects,” Go said.

He added that President Duterte does not engage in micro-managing of projects, which are being equally distributed in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. “So, hindi nahuhuli ang Bacolod sa proyekto. May nakala-an rin dito,” Go said.

Duterte did not win in Negros Occidental during the May 2016 elections, but when he finally won the presidency, majority of local officials joined the PDP-Laban, the president’s political party. (FREEMAN)