Marcos: Small cities, municipalities priority in patient transport vehicles distribution

President Ferdinand ''Bongbong'' Marcos Jr. said Friday that the government would prioritize giving patient transport vehicles (PTVs) to smaller cities and municipalities in support of their health projects. 

Marcos made the remark during the distribution of patient transport vehicles in Dipolog City.

''At inuna namin – hindi namin muna pinarioritize (prioritize) ‘yung malalaking lungsod, the big cities because usually mayroon na silang mga facilities. Hindi urgent. Iyong mga maliliit ang inuna namin. Inumpisahan natin fourth, fifth, sixth class na municipality. Then slowly we'll work our way back,'' Marcos said.

(We did not prioritize the big cities because they usually have the facilities. It's not urgent. We prioritize the small ones. We started with the fourth, fifth, and sixth class municipalities. Then slowly we'll work our way back.) 

According to the President, the government, through the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office, has already distributed 1,067 PTVs since June 2022. He said this would continue as his administration intends to provide ambulances to all local government units by the end of the year. 

The PCSO allocated P1 billion in 2025 to procure 395 more PTVs for requesting local government units and national government agencies.

A total of 106 PTVs will be distributed to various cities and municipalities across the provinces of Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Lanao del Sur and Isabela City in Basilan —VAL, GMA Integrated News