The Malasakit Center refers to a chain of one-stop-shop centers for medical and financial assistance provided by various agencies of the Philippine government.

History

The Malasakit Center program was started by the Office of the Special Assistant to the President, led by

Bong Go Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Tesoro Go (; born June 14, 1974) is a Filipino politician serving as a Senator since 2019. He previously served in the Cabinet of President Rodrigo Duterte as Special Assistant to the President and Head of the Presi ...

following a directive of President

Rodrigo Duterte Rodrigo Roa Duterte (, ; born March 28, 1945), also known as Digong, Rody, and by the initials DU30 and PRRD, is a Filipino lawyer and politician who served as the 16th president of the Philippines from 2016 to 2022. He is the chairperson ...

. The center is meant as a one-stop shop for government medical assistance for indigent Filipinos. The first Malasakit Center opened in February 2018. When Go was elected Senator in 2019, he continued to promote the Malasakit Center; authoring a bill in the Senate that would institutionalize the center. President Duterte signed into law on December 3, 2019, the Malasakit Center Act, also known as Republic Act No. 11463. As per law, the government is obliged to establish Malasakit Centers in all hospitals under the

Department of Health A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...

and the

Philippine General Hospital The Philippine General Hospital (also known as University of the Philippines–Philippine General Hospital or UP–Philippine General Hospital), simply referred to as UP–PGH or PGH, is a tertiary state-owned hospital administered and operated ...

. The legislation also authorizes the

Philippine National Police The Philippine National Police ( fil, Pambansang Pulisya ng Pilipinas, acronymed as PNP) is the armed national police force in the Philippines. Its national headquarters is located at Camp Crame in Bagong Lipunan ng Crame, Quezon City. Current ...

to set up of such facilities.

Services

Eligible indigent Filipinos can avail multiple subsidies from various government agencies in Malasakit Centers. Prior to the establishment of Malasakit Centers, indigents had to fill up multiple documents and go to separate government offices to lessen their medical expenses. The Malasakit Center processes the availing of subsidies from the following government agencies: *

Department of Social Welfare and Development The Philippines' Department of Social Welfare and Development ( fil, Kagawaran ng Kagalingan at Pagpapaunlad Panlipunan, Kagawaran ng Kagalingang Panlipunan at Pagpapaunlad, abbreviated as DSWD) is the executive department of the Philippine Go ...

PhilHealth The Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) was created in 1995 to implement universal health coverage in the Philippines. It is a tax-exempt, government-owned and controlled corporation (GOCC) of the Philippines, and is attached to ...

Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office The Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO, fil, Tanggapan sa Charity Sweepstakes ng Pilipinas) is a government-owned and controlled corporation of the Philippines under direct supervision of the Office of the President of the Philippines. ...

Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR, ) is a government-owned and controlled corporation established through the ''Presidential Decree 1869''. PAGCOR is the Philippines' largest contributor of revenue to the government after the ...

Branches

As of March 4, 2022, there are 151 Malasakit Centers across the Philippines.

References

{{reflist Medical and health organizations based in the Philippines 2018 establishments in the Philippines Presidency of Rodrigo Duterte Government aid programs