MANILA, Philippines –The government’s health care program for free hospitalization and medicine for indigent patients can now be easily accessed through “Libreng Gamot Para sa Masa”.
Lingap, is a pet project of President Rodrigo Duterte which was allocated PHP1 billion funds which indigent patients could avail of to buy their medication.
Lingap para sa Mahirap program has been institutionalized in Davao City for decades, as the health care program of Davao City since Duterte became Mayor 26 years ago.
LinGap Para sa Masa, is among his campaign commitment now turning to reality.
Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Protective Service Bureau director, Ma. Alicia Bonoan told the government’s communication arm, Philippine News Agency, they have identified six hospitals that implement the program.
Patients in the following hospitals can now avail the LinGaP Para sa Masa ; the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital for the National Capital Region (NCR); Jose B. Lingad Memorial Hospital in San Fernando City, Pampanga for Central Luzon; Western Visayas Medical Center in Iloilo City for Western Visayas; Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu City for Central Visayas; and Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City and Davao Regional Hospital in Tagum City, both for the Davao Region.
A help desk manned by a staff from DSWD were deployed to facilitate the patient’s representative or relative in processing the “guarantee letter” for the medicines.
The program does not involve release of cash assistance.
“There is no money being issued here, only the guarantee letter, which can be used for the purchase of the medicine,” she said, noting that after obtaining the medicine, the letter will be marked “ISSUED”.
What to bring?
-The patient or the representative needs to present a valid ID;
– The drug prescription containing the doctor’s signature, license number, and contact number and;
– The certificate of indigency from the barangay.
How to Process?
The patients representative or relative needs to go to a pharmacy to get the comparative price (preferably the lowest) in the prescription issued by the attending physician while the DSWD social worker will assess if the patient qualifies for the assistance and the documents.
As of April 12, a total of PHP15.48 million has been used for the medicines of patients who have availed of the program, with PHP984,512,549.94 still available.
Of the total number of patients who have availed of free medicines, 1,124 beneficiaries were from Central Luzon, 467 from NCR, 295 from the Davao region, and 159 from Central Visayas.
Some 2,137 individuals have already benefited from the program.
The program targets the poor, vulnerable or disadvantaged sector, the informal sector and those listed under the Listahan ng Mahihirap na Pamilya database; government employees especially those who are contractual; and the family or relatives of soldiers and policemen wounded while performing their duties.-Editha Z. Caduaya with reports from PNA
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