THE long-delayed passage of a bill institutionalizing the National Center for Geriatric Health (NCGH) has been pushed anew in an event for the elderly, organized by the News and Information Bureau (NIB).
In his remark, NCGH Chairman Melhammid Tomawis appealed for the inclusion of the proposed measure converting the NCGH into a full-fledged hospital for senior citizens on Malacañang’s list of priority bills.
“We appeal for inclusion of this proposed bill on the list of top 10 priority measures of government,” Tomawis said during the health and wellness services program held at NCGH in San Miguel, Manila, on Monday.
“Because our beloved President Duterte is also a senior citizen, I’m sure he will support this bill,” he added.
He also appealed to lawmakers in both the Senate and the House of Representatives to support the passage of the bill.
Tomawis said the country needs a general hospital that will cater to all the medical needs of the country’s nearly 10 million senior citizens.
“So I hope that under the term of President Duterte, this bill will finally become a law, and then, hopefully, we will able to eventually build similar hospitals in the Visayas and Mindanao,” he said.
He said institutionalizing NCGH can serve as “a tangible and permanent” legacy of the Duterte administration.
Established in 2010 through an executive order signed by former President and now House Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, the NCGH is just one of the attached hospitals of the Jose Reyes Memorial Medical Center (JRMMC).
Since NCGH has to rely on a limited budget from JRMMC, Tomawis said the NCGH has no intensive care unit and equipment needed to operate on an emergency section.
“As of now, we can do nothing. That’s why we appeal to the government to address it. This is the theme of our occasion today,” Tomawis said, referring to NIB’s event theme, “Handog KKK Para Kina Lola at Lolo.”
Almost 150 senior citizens have availed themselves of the health and wellness services offered by the NIB in coordination with NCGH as part of the Filipino Elderly Week celebration.
Among the services offered include acupuncture, acupressure therapy, massage therapy, use of lifelight, Carmen bees synchrotherapy, cell mineral drops demo, gadget for massage, quantum magnetic resonance analyzer and pranic/reiki healing.
“We are happy to remind and make the people aware that we have a Filipino Elderly Week celebration. This is our humble way of making you happy in your celebration,” NIB Director Virginia Arcilla-Agtay said.
The NIB, an attached agency of the Presidential Communications Operations Office, provided similar services in May during the NCGH’s eighth founding anniversary.
