PDP-Laban vice presidential candidate Sen. Christopher “Bong” Go has exhorted voters to look beyond personalities and measure leaders based on the kind of service they have provided to the people they committed to serve.
He also warned the public against selling their votes as he urged them to choose candidates who they believe can fight for their welfare and best serve them.
“Do not sell your votes. That is your right. Do not sell the future of your children and our country,” said Go, who is running under a faction of the ruling party led by Energy Secretary Alfonso Cusi.
He said Filipinos must keep in mind the privilege of elected officials to lead comes directly from the consent of the people.
Despite having filed his candidacy for vice president for the upcoming national elections, Go said his focus remains on fulfilling his mandate as a senator and on ensuring public service delivery amid the ongoing crisis.
Instead of discussing politics, he would want to focus on finding solutions to the challenges posed by the pandemic, including the setting up of Malasakit centers.
Go commended the Duterte administration’s efforts to close gaps in health care access, particularly for the urban poor, as the 146th Malasakit Center opened on October 27 at the Las Piñas General Hospital and Satellite Trauma Center in Las Piñas City.
The Malasakit Center brings together the offices of the Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Health, Philhealth, and PCSO under one roof to ease access to government financial and medical assistance, particularly to poor and indigent patients.
The one-stop-stop aims to reduce a hospital bill to the lowest amount possible by covering various patient services and expenses, pursuant to the Malasakit Centers Act of 2019, which Go principally authored and sponsored in the Senate.
More than three million patients have benefited since the program was initiated in 2018.