Free dialysis campaign gets boost
A CAMPAIGN to make hemodialysis a free medical service gets a bigger boost after an official of the Presidential Communications Office (PCO) vowed to bring this to the attention of concerned government agencies.
PCO Assistance Secretary Marie Banaag told members of the Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club (BCBC) that their office will cooperate and readily assist to link the program to the national government.
“That is a good move from the media. We appreciate that you are initiating it. We will surely help your group bring it to the national government,” she said.
The BCBC spearheaded the campaign early this year in partnership with the Philippine Information Agency-Cordillera following the launching of a signature drive pushing for Congress to pass a law to make dialysis in government health facilities free to all patients who need it.
Former BCBC president Ramon Dacawi said it has been his advocacy to help people undergoing dialysis through his writing.
Friends and volunteer donors help him provide financial assistance for the treatment of patients, Dacawi said.
Since he became a dialysis patient himself, the more he realized the financial burden of having such illness, he further shared.
Banaag said PCO has been continuously assisting and guiding patients, especially those from the underprivileged sector who are seeking financial or medical assistance.
The government official added the department is working with the Department of Health and the Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation through the funds for health.
Banaag added it is apart from the assistance provided by the department to allow those from the far-flung communities to reach medical facilities and back to assure they get treatment and medical attention.
“Our President, Rodrigo Roa Duterte is very supportive of the cause for the marginalized and doesn’t want the poor’s health needs being set aside,” Banaag added.
Banaag was in the city to administer the oath of office of the newly elected officers of the more than 50-year-old media organization in the Cordilleras.
Since its launch in January this year, the campaign has earned support from Baguio City and the different towns and barangays in Benguet.
BCBC is set to submit documents to the President and other national government agencies, including Congress in coming up with a unified program for free dialysis.
This the best way they can help the increasing number of impoverished patients relying on the emergency life-saving procedure. (Roderick Osis/SunStar Philippines)