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13 PASAY CITY
A Showcase for Philhealth
Philhealth Plus
IN Pasay City, efforts to make quality medical care accessible to the
poor has produced results along with the conviction that “better health
makes people more economically productive”.
Public Health is a Public Trust
Pasay City had always provided medical services to its indigent residents
but these were limited to free consultations and medicines available at
its 12 health centers. Other important services like laboratory tests (stool
analysis, urinalysis, blood analysis, etc.) and hospitalization were not
available for free. So, even when they needed these services—for serious
illnesses like cardiovascular diseases, and infectious diseases like
pneumonia, diarrhea and tuberculosis—indigent residents would not
avail themselves of such services since they could not afford to pay.
They would rather spend the money on food for their families.
Moreover, there are only two public hospitals that cater to the needs
of both the poor and the other residents of Pasay City. These are the
Pasay City General Hospital with 150 beds to service the 422,599 city
residents and the Villamor Airbase Hospital which mainly caters to
military personnel and their families. And then there is the problem of
lack of funds.
Partner Power
The city government, recognizing the need to provide these crucial
services but at the same time realizing their own limitation in terms of
fund, nevertheless did not stop to look for ways to further expand health
services for indigent families. The local government decided to combine
their health program with the health insurance program of the Philippine
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