The Manila Times

Bong Go comforts Davao fire victims

JAVIER JOE ISMAEL

IN line with his commitment to ensure that vulnerable communities are well-supported in times of crisis, Sen. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go had his team mount a relief activity in Barangay Matina Aplaya, Davao City on Tuesday, August 9.

Held at the Barangay Gymnasium, Go’s staff enforced necessary safety protocols while distributing grocery packs, meals, vitamins, shirts and masks to 196 families.

They also provided cellular phones, shoes and watches to select individuals.

Some beneficiaries also received bicycles and balls for volleyball and basketball as part of the senator’s efforts to encourage more Filipinos to get into sports and stay away from illegal drugs and other vices.

“My advocacy is to get into sports, stay away from drugs. Let’s take our youth away from illegal drugs and pursue the campaign of former president Rodrigo Duterte against them,” Go said during his videoconference.

A team from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) handed out separate financial assistance while the National Housing Authority assessed the needs of the victims and committed to provide support under its emergency housing assistance program.

Meanwhile, the Department of Trade and Industry committed to help those qualified under its Pangkabuhayan sa Pagbangon at Ginhawa Program.

In his message, Go reassured that the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) is undergoing a ten-year modernization program, in accordance with Republic Act (RA) 11589, to improve the agency’s capability to deal with fire-related incidents.

Under this law, which Go primarily authored and co-sponsored, the BFP modernization program includes recruiting more firefighters, acquiring new fire equipment and developing specialized training, among others.

The lawmaker also refiled Senate Bill 193, or the proposed “Mandatory Evacuation Centers Act,” to ensure that victims of disasters, whether natural or man-made, can take refuge in evacuation centers that are safe, dedicated and equipped with basic necessities.

Go also encouraged those with health concerns to visit the Malasakit Center at Southern Philippines Medical Center in the city where they can conveniently access medical assistance programs from the government.

Witnessing firsthand the struggles of low-income Filipinos to receive adequate medical attention, he had initiated the Malasakit Centers program in 2018 to give particularly poor and indigent patients convenient access to medical assistance programs offered by the DSWD, Department of Health (DoH), Philippine Health Insurance Corp., and Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

The program was institutionalized under RA 11463, or the “Malasakit Centers Act of 2019,” which mandates the establishment of Malasakit Centers in all DoH-run hospitals and the Philippine General Hospital.

There are now 151 Malasakit Centers across the country that have assisted over three million patients nationwide.

Go reminded the public to continue following health protocols against infectious diseases, such as Covid-19 and monkeypox.

He called on eligible Filipinos to get inoculated and boosted against Covid-19.

Go has supported the establishment of four Super Health Centers in Davao City.

He was instrumental in several initiatives in the city, including the construction of water systems in four barangay (villages) — Acacia, Fatima, Mabuhay and San Isidro — and construction or widening of drainage canals in the villages of Bunawan Proper and Mintal.

The senator also supported the rehabilitation of multipurpose buildings and local roads in different barangay throughout the city; construction or rehabilitation of drainage systems in Tupaz Outfall and the villages of Centro, Mudiang and Ubalde; construction of flood control structures in Barangay 9-A and Barangay Datu Loho Creek; and acquisition of ambulance units for the villages of Mintal, Buhangin and Gatungan.

Last August 5, the senator personally visited Kapitan Tomas Monteverde, Agdao Proper and Paciano Bangoy and provided aid to more than a thousand struggling Davaoeños in the city.

Regions

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2022-08-12T07:00:00.0000000Z

2022-08-12T07:00:00.0000000Z

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The Manila Times