ABOUT 50,000 PhilHealth identification (ID) cards have been distributed to the residents identified by the Cagayan de Oro City Government as the "poorest of the poor."
William Bernardo, City Health Insurance officer-in-charge, said the City Government, through its village health workers, identified the beneficiaries through strict screening and validation.
Bernardo said this project is part of the government's aim to give every resident a PhilHealth ID card which provides them free and easy access to health care services.
Mayor Oscar Moreno assured the residents that the screening process will be fair.
"Bisan dili nato kauban sa pulitika, atong apilon kay ang atong aim is tinud-anay na serbisyo," he said.
Councilor Ma. Lourdes Gaane is urging the JR Borja General Hospital to finish its "long-overdue" intensive care unit (ICU).
The City Council's chair on the committee on health and sanitation, Gaane said that the council decided to defer the 48 positions proposed by the city hospital, as it needs to see the ICU completion first.
The construction of the eight-bed capacity ICU started as early as October last year, just two months after the council approved the P120 million supplemental budget in August of 2016, which would cover the ICU and other infrastructure projects of the hospital.
Gaane said the hospital's commitment is to finish the project within this year, but she said the council needs it done in the third quarter of 2017, especially with the increasing patients in the hospital and their increasing need for an ICU room.
"Ang amoa man sa City Council, last year pa na-approve ang budget, so we were hoping na early unta this year, operational na unta atong ICU para complete na gayud na serbisyo atong mahatag sa katawhan," she said.
" We are really pushing them to finish it as soon as possible, kay expensive baya kaayo sa mga private hospitals, especially with their no deposit policy, even mayor Magtajas experienced it, how much more for those who really cannot afford?" she said.
The councilor explained that for a hospital to upgrade, it needs to complete four requirements, first is infrastructure, second, the hospital's equipment, third, its medical manpower and fourth, its capacity to produce medicines and supply. (With reports from Elena Gomez, MSU-Marawi intern)
