PhilHealth program enrolls 12,000 indigent families in Lanao

ILIGAN CITY, Philppines – Some 12,000 indigent families of Iligan City will be covered by the sponsored Philhealth Program through the initiatives of the Ist legislative district of Lanao del Norte and Iligan City. Rep. Vicente “Varf" Belmonte, of the Ist District of Lanao del Norte and Iligan City stressed this point during the signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) on the health indigency program, dubbed “MagtamVARFyayong alang sa kahimsog" with the PhilHealth, Region X, represented by Regional Vice President Datu Masiding M. Alonto, Jr. Cong. Belmonte emphasized that the 12,000 thousand PhilHealth beneficiaries will come from the 44 barangays of Iligan City on an equitable basis to truly serve their health interest. He added that the health benefits will be renewable yearly without prejudice to additional PhilHealth beneficiaries for as long as he is congressman. On the other hand, PhilHealth Regional Vice President Alonto said, “We salute the Honorable Varf Belmonte, representative of the First Congressional District of Lanao del Norte, for enrolling 12,000 indigent families into the Sponsored Program.". He added, “The good congressman joins a growing list of politicians who share PhilHealth’s vision of providing indigent Filipinos with financial access to quality health care services." Alonto also called on local elected officials to be inclusive in reach, not divisive in scope. He said, “We beseech them to serve the broad spectrum of society, not favoring any dominant sectoral group to the exclusion of a silently suffering minority." Alonto echoed the famous adage, “"All it takes for evil to succeed is for good men to do nothing". He said, “PhilHealth will not allow evil to prevail by doing everything possible to provide all Filipinos with equal access to quality health care services." Alonto also assured PhilHealth’s partners of its full support in the implementation of this poverty alleviation project. Dr. Usafeno F. Obial, chief of the HCDMD in Northern Mindanao, gave a brief on some 50 participants of the background of the program, which include city councilors, barangay captains, ranking officials of hospital and health clinics, representatives of non-government organizations, media practitioners, among others. - GMANews.TV