SEN. Christopher Lawrence “Bong” Go has distributed aid to indigents in Quezon City as he renewed the call for continued bayanihan (communal unity) efforts to speed up pandemic recovery.
After the Quezon City activity on Thursday, Go rushed to Navotas City to be joined by Sen. Ronald “Bato” dela Rosa and the staff of Sen. Francis Tolentino in distributing relief for 270 poor residents.
The residents received grocery packs, vitamins, face masks, meals and shirts. Others were also given cellular phones and shoes.
“Kapag nakauwi kayo nang masaya, masaya rin po kami (If you go home happy, we’re also happy),” Go said during the event.
Go, chairman of the Senate Committee on Sports, handed out bicycles, and balls for basketball and volleyball to select individuals as he stressed how sports can encourage Filipinos, especially the youth, to stay away from illegal drugs and other vices.
“That’s why I encourage our youth to get into sports, stay away from drugs,” the senator said in Filipino and English.
The chairman of the Senate Committee on Health also appealed to the government to continue balancing the country’s economy and the public’s health interest to ensure that more businesses can be safely reopened.
Representatives from the Department of Social Welfare and Development also extended livelihood grants. Go urged the recipients to use the money to start a small business and let it grow.
He offered those seeking hospital care to go to any of the 11 Malasakit Centers in the city where they may avail of medical assistance from the government.
Go principally authored and sponsored the Malasakit Centers Act of 2019 which provides for the establishment of one-stop shops in all Department of Health-run hospitals nationwide and in the Philippine General Hospital in Manila City.
So far, 152 operational centers have been opened nationwide, including those at the Lung Center of the Philippines, Novaliches District Hospital, Philippine Heart Center, Philippine Children’s Medical Center, National Kidney and Transplant Institute, East Avenue Medical Center, Veterans Memorial Medical Center, Philippine Orthopedic Center, National Children’s Hospital, Quirino Memorial Medical Center, and Philippine National Police General Hospital in the city.
To ensure better access to quality yet affordable health care, the senator likewise supported the construction of six “super” health centers in Quezon City.
