DAVAO CITY, Mar 6 (PIA) Acting Mayor Rodrigo Duterte mulled of expanding the access of treatment for kidney patients from the Southern Philippines Medical Center by decentralizing the services of the Lingap Para sa mga Mahihirap or free medical fees to other hospitals in the city.
Speaking in the commemoration of the World Kidney Day in one of the malls this city, he said the plan includes provision of dialysis machines to smaller hospitals and for the city government to shoulder the fees for the medical personnel involved in the treatment.
Duterte said he cannot afford to refuse other residents who need to undergo dialysis in small clinics, aside from those being served by the Lingap program at the SPMC.
He revealed that medical and social services incur the biggest expense in his 19-year experience of local governance.
“We spend P220-Million for burial, medicine and hospital expenses for the residents. It is bigger than the intelligence fund which is only P5-Million per year,” Duterte said.
He said even discretionary funds are given to the children of poor families in form of scholarships.
Duterte said the city now supports seven thousand scholars.
He also explained his hard stance against criminals as his way of taking good care of the welfare of residents.
Duterte said with the influx of Mindanaoan residents who look at the city as a safe haven, the current population rises to 3.5 Million.
“We have to stop the occurrence of criminal activities which might shoo away investors and residents alike,” he said.
Duterte said that currently, the city earns P4.5 Billion from the taxes collected from business enterprises which make the local government easy to serve the needs of the residents like education for children, medical treatment for residents, incentives for law enforcers, construction of school buildings, and payment for teachers.
He stressed that he denounces violence but he is prepared to address those who will disturb the stable peace and order condition of the city.
“Do not create trouble here given the gargantuan task of serving the people,” Duterte pointed out.
Records from the kidney treatment dialysis section of the SPMC showed that three hundred kidney patients avail of the Lingap services per year, multiplied to four treatments per month for 12 months resulting to 14,400 treatments annually. (RGA/JSD/PIA-XI)
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