Press Release - Bong Go advocates for necessary funding for proper implementation of Regional Specialty Centers Act

Senator Christopher "Bong" Go, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography and Vice Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, is advocating for the necessary funding to establish more Regional Specialty Centers and ensure its continued operations.

This call is in accordance with the enactment of Republic Act No. 11959 or the Regional Specialty Centers Act, which Go principally sponsored and is one of the authors in the Senate. The law aims to bring specialized medical care closer to the grassroots by establishing specialty centers in existing regional hospitals. The measure received a unanimous 24-0 vote in the Senate.

During the plenary debates for the Department of Health's (DOH) budget on Wednesday, November 15, Go expressed hope that ample funding would be further granted to avoid compelling patients with serious illnesses in the provinces to travel to existing specialty hospitals in Metro Manila for treatment.

"We passed the Regional Specialty Centers Act. P10 B is already included in the committee report for the implementation of this law. This is a multi-year program at sana po ay mabigyan ng sapat na pondo para hindi na kailanganing pumunta pa sa Maynila nang mga pasyenteng may malubhang sakit sa mga probinsya," said Go.

The senator emphasized the need to decentralize specialized medical services, bringing advanced healthcare closer to the people in the provinces in accordance with the newly enacted law. Each specialty center will host a different specialty, bringing services such as those available in Metro Manila-based hospitals like the Heart Center, Lung Center, and the National Kidney and Transplant Institute, closer to communities.

Go then urged his fellow lawmakers to ensure that the allocated funds align with the objectives of the legislation, citing the need to address the immense burden placed on individuals and their families when they are forced to seek medical care far from home, particularly for complex and specialized treatments. He then called on DOH to ensure the proper implementation of the law.

Meanwhile, this effort aligns with the continuous operations of Malasakit Centers, championed and principally authored and