SEN. Christopher Lawrence 'Bong' Go commended the Department of Health (DoH) and the local government of Guinsiliban, Camiguin as they held a successful groundbreaking of the town's Super Health Center (SHC) on Thursday.

In his video message, Go, who heads the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, maintained that he will always prioritize and support initiatives that will create better access to health services, especially to disadvantaged communities in the grassroots.

'In going around the country, I have seen myself what more we can do to improve our health facilities. Strengthening our health care system is really important because not all of our countrymen can easily access this,' said Go.

'This is the reason why I pushed for the establishment of Super Health Centers nationwide, especially in rural areas, so our countrymen can easily attend to basic health service needs.'

Go was instrumental in pushing for adequate funding to ensure that more Super Health Centers are established across the country. Some 307 SHCs were funded in 2022 through Go's initiative.

He also committed his continued support for the establishment of more SHCs in the country as he had earlier successfully pushed for sufficient funds for the centers in this year's Health Facilities Enhancement Program of the Health department.

The said health facilities offer database management, out-patient, birthing, isolation, diagnostic (laboratory: X-ray, ultrasound), pharmacy, and ambulatory surgical unit. Other available services are eye, ear, nose and throat (EENT) service; oncology centers; physical therapy and rehabilitation center; and telemedicine.

'This Super Health Center is bigger than a rural health unit [and] smaller than a hospital. It's a medium version of a polyclinic and an improved version of a rural health unit. The DoH, together with the LGUs, will implement this Super Health Center and more will be constructed this year for the benefit of our countrymen,' said Go.

Apart from Guinsiliban, the senator supported the construction of another Super Health Center in Mambajao, the groundbreaking of which he personally witnessed the previous day.

Continuing his message, Go encouraged everyone to take advantage of the services offered in the newly opened Malasakit Center at the Camiguin General Hospital (CGH) in Mambajao. Go graced its launch on the same day as the groundbreaking of Mambajao SHC.

Go principally authored and sponsored Republic Act (RA) 11463, otherwise known as the 'Malasakit Centers Act of 2019,' which mandates all DoH-run hospitals and the Philippine General Hospital to establish their own centers and ensure that medical assistance programs are conveniently available to particularly poor and indigent patients.

'The Malasakit Center is a one-stop shop which aims to make medical assistance programs more accessible, particularly to the poor and indigent patients by bringing the concerned agencies under one roof, such as the DSWD, Department of Health, Philippine Health Insurance Corp., and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office,' explained Go.

Meanwhile, Go, who is the vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, continues to support projects in the province to ensure its continued progress amid these difficult times.

The senator earlier supported the construction of a two-story multipurpose building and two-story isolation unit/evacuation center in Guinsiliban, acquisition of an ambulance unit and a dump truck for the local government of Mahinog, and the construction of an evacuation center in Sagay.

On Wednesday, the senator also visited Barangay Bonbon in Catarman, Camiguin, and briefly inspected several initiatives he pushed for and advocated in coordination with the local government.

Among these projects are the construction of a seawall and a multipurpose gymnasium, both in Purok 3, and the construction of a barangay hall and an evacuation center, and the installation of solar lights, all in Purok 4.