Bong Go extends aid to Rizal fire victims

SEN. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go on Wednesday, March 15, visited the province of Rizal where he personally spearheaded a relief activity for fire victims from the towns of Taytay and Cainta. The separate fire incidents affected over a hundred families and led to one casualty.

In addressing the victims, Go reassured that he remains dedicated to extending his unwavering support for the affected households and exerting his utmost efforts to make certain that no one is left behind toward recovery.

The senator is the principal author and co-sponsor of Republic Act 11589, or the “Bureau of Fire Protection Modernization Act of 2021.”

Under the Act, the bureau is undergoing a ten-year modernization program that includes the acquisition of modern fire equipment, recruitment of more firefighters and provision of specialized training, among others.

Go reiterated that he will also continue crafting and supporting measures to assist fire and other disaster victims, and create a more disaster-resilient nation.

He has been pushing for his Senate Bill (SB) 192, which seeks to institutionalize the Rental Housing Subsidy Program to provide disaster victims better and more affordable access to the formal housing market through the provision of rental subsidies by the government.

The senator has also been advocating for SBs 188 and 193, which aim to create the Department of Disaster Resilience and require the establishment of mandatory evacuation centers in every province, city and municipality, respectively.

Held at the Exodus Elementary School in Taytay, Go and his team provided grocery packs, vitamins, masks, snacks and shirts to the 119 affected households from both Taytay and Cainta towns.

The senator also gave away cellular phones, shoes, bicycles, and watches to select individuals.

Go, who heads the Senate Committee on Sports, also handed out balls for basketball and volleyball to several young beneficiaries as part of his vision to encourage them to engage more in sports and stay away from drugs.

Meanwhile, the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) extended financial assistance to each affected family.

Personnel from the Department of Trade and Industry assessed the beneficiaries who can qualify for its livelihood program.

Go, also chairman of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, reached out to the residents with health concerns and advised them to seek the services of the Malasakit Centers at Bagong Cainta Municipal Hospital, Margarito A. Duavit Memorial Hospital in Binangonan, Casimiro A. Ynares Sr. Memorial Hospital in Rodriguez, and Antipolo City Hospital System Annex 4.

Malasakit Centers are one-stop shops that provide poor and indigent patients convenient access to medical assistance programs from the DSWD, Department of Health, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and Philippine Health Insurance Corp.

There are now 156 Malasakit Centers nationwide.

Go is the principal author and sponsor of the Malasakit Centers Act of 2019.

He also supported the establishment of 11 Super Health Centers across the province as part of his initiatives to bring government public health services closer to Filipinos. Together with his fellow legislators, Go was instrumental in ensuring appropriate funds were allocated for the construction of some 307 Super Health Centers in 2022 and 322 more SHCs for the year 2023 under the Health Facilities Enhancement Program.

Super Health Centers offer basic health services including database management, outpatient, birthing, isolation, diagnostic (laboratory: X-ray, ultrasound), pharmacy, and ambulatory surgical unit.

Other available services are eye, ear, nose and throat service; oncology centers; physical therapy and rehabilitation center; and telemedicine, where remote diagnosis and treatment of patients will be done.

“We have four Malasakit Centers here in the province of Rizal that will help our countrymen. I am also pushing now for the establishment of Super Health Centers all over the Philippines, including here in the province of Rizal,” Go said.

The senator, also vice chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, has supported several infrastructure projects in both towns.

In Taytay, Go supported the construction of a sports complex, the acquisition of an ambulance and the construction of a drainage canal system.

In Cainta, he supported the acquisition of a firetruck and the rehabilitation of roads and drainage canal systems.

During the event, several local officials were also present, including Cainta Mayor Elen Nieto, Vice Mayor Ace Servillon and former mayor Kit Nieto; Taytay Mayor Allan de Leon and Vice Mayor Pia Cabral, among others.