THE Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) on Tuesday, June 9, 2026, reminded individuals affected by the magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Mindanao that they may avail of their benefit package for emergency cases.
In a social media post, PhilHealth said quake-hit patients may avail of its Outpatient Emergency Care Benefits (OECB) Package.
"If you need immediate medical support, you can use PhilHealth's OECB Package," said PhilHealth.
Under the OECB package, all outpatient emergency cases in accredited levels 1 to 3 hospitals are covered by PhilHealth.
Emergency outpatient services cover everything not covered by case rate packages, as well as commodities needed by the patient in the Emergency Room Department and extension facilities.
On Monday morning, a magnitude 7.8 earthquake struck the province of Sarangani and was also felt in other areas of Mindanao.
According to the Office of Civil Defense (OCD), the death toll from the strong earthquake has increased to 37 as of Tuesday while also affecting a total of 17,689 families or 77,186 individuals.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health (DOH) disclosed that all private and public hospitals in Mindanao have been advised to closely coordinate with one another.
In a statement, Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa said he has already advised all concerned private and public health facilities to be on alert for patients in need of medical aid.
"The DOH response is centered on ensuring hospitals are able to receive patients," said Herbosa.
"We have ordered proper coordination between public and private hospitals in a bid to help meet each other's needs," he added.
Herbosa noted that there are some health facilities with limited operations due to power outages caused by the earthquake. (Anton Banal/SunStar Philippines)
