Bong Go helps typhoon-affected residents recover and rebuild in Sarangani, Davao Occidental

Senator "Christopher" Bong Go's Malasakit Team provided assistance to 32 families affected by Typhoon Paeng in Sarangani town last March 7, Thursday.

The relief operations was held at the Sarangani Municipal Gym, where the typhoon victims received food packs, snacks, clothing, basketball, volleyball, facemask, vitamins, and keychain. There were also selected recipients of shoes and a watch.

"Huwag po kayong magpasalamat sa amin, trabaho namin 'yan. Kami po ang dapat magpasalamat sa inyo dahil binigyan n'yo po kami ng pagkakataon na makapagserbisyo sa inyo," said Go in his video message.

Through Go's advocacy for disaster resilience, the National Housing Authority provided emergency housing assistance to qualified beneficiaries to help them rebuild their homes.

"Isinulong natin na mabigyan sila ng National Housing Authority ng ayuda pambili ng housing materials tulad ng pako, yero at iba pa, upang maisaayos muli ang kanilang mga tirahan. Nagpapasalamat tayo sa NHA para programa nila upang masigurong makabangon at makapagpatayo muli ang ating mga kababayang biktima ng sakuna," Go highlighted.

Go has been vocal about the need for the government to respond to disaster-related incidents with greater proactivity. Accordingly, he committed to advocating for his filed Senate Bill No. 188, creating the Department of Disaster Resilience. Streamlining disaster related efforts would be the responsibility of this proposed department.

Go also filed SBN 1181, also known as the New Philippine Building Act, which aims to establish guidelines and requirements that all structures must adhere to to guarantee their stability and integrity in a disaster.

As Chair of the Senate Committee on Health and Demography, Go continued to help Filipinos through the 160 Malasakit Centers established across the country, including the newly launched 160th Malasakit Center in Davao Occidental General Hospital in Malita.

Launched in Cebu in 2018, the Malasakit Centers program was later institutionalized under Republic Act No. 11463, a bill primarily authored and sponsored by Go in the Senate. The Department of Health tallied that more than ten million Filipinos nationwide have benefited from these centers.

Furthermore, to bring primary health care closer to communities, Go has also advocated establishing hundreds of Super Health Centers nationwide, including three in Davao Occidental.

"Super Health Centers will help decongest hospitals dahil dito na lang ang mga minor cases gaya ng mga tahi-tahi, ultrasound diyan na. Diyan na ang Konsulta (program) ng PhilHealth dahil lahat ng Pilipino ay miyembro po ng PhilHealth. Hindi ninyo na kailangang magbiyahe," shared Go.

Through the collective efforts of the DOH, local government units, and fellow lawmakers, sufficient funds have been allocated under the DOH for the construction of around 700 Super Health Centers nationwide.