House vows to fund 15 Valor clinics for 400,000 veterans
While it’s still undergoing its organizational phase, the House of Representatives promised to fund the 15 Veterans Access to Lifetime Optimized Healthcare (Valor) clinics President Marcos vowed to put up across the country over the next three years.
“The valor of our veterans and soldiers can never be fully repaid,” said Leyte Rep. Martin Romualdez, the presumptive speaker of the upcoming 20th Congress, which convenes on July 28.
“But in recognition of their invaluable contributions to our nation, we in the House of Representatives, in support of [Mr. Marcos’] program, will work to ensure health-care services, treatments and medicines are always within their reach,” said the congressman, a cousin of the President.
While the executive department, through the Department of Budget and Management, has not submitted its spending plan for 2026, Romualdez said the country’s veterans “deserve the highest quality of government service especially in their twilight years.”
The President unveiled the program on Saturday as he launched the pilot site for the first Valor clinic in at the Fernando Air Base in Lipa City, but the government has not mentioned how much the program would cost.
According to physician Al Azarcon, chief program manager of the Valor Clinics, the program can be considered a milestone initiative of the Marcos administration.
The Lipa clinic alone is expected to serve 7,000 to 10,000 veterans and dependents in Batangas and nearby areas, he said.
“There is only one veterans hospital in the country—Veterans Memorial Medical Center in Quezon City—but we have more than 400,000 veterans nationwide, and around 4,000 more retire every year,” Azarcon said.
“Not everyone can afford to travel to Manila. The Valor program was created to regionalize and decentralize care for our veterans,” he added.
The Valor program is expected to roll out in three phases, targeting the establishment of 15 clinics nationwide by 2028.
For the initial phase in 2026, the program aims to put up Valor clinics in Fernando Air Base in Batangas, Northern Luzon Command in Tarlac City, Fort Bonifacio General Hospital in Taguig City, Southern Luzon Command in Lucena City and Camp Riego de Dios in Cavite City.
In 2027, the second phase will aim to establish additional clinics at the Eastern Mindanao Command in Davao City; Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City; the Brigadier General Benito Ebuen Air Base Hospital in Mactan, Cebu; and the Government Arsenal Medical Facility in Bataan.
The third and final phase eyes Valor clinics set up at the Kuta Major Cesar L. Sang-an Hospital in Zamboanga del Sur; the Camp Peralta Station Hospital in Capiz; Camp Evangelista Station Hospital in Cagayan de Oro; Camp Melchor F. Dela Cruz Station Hospital in Isabela; the Camp Siongco Station Hospital in Maguindanao; and the 8th Infantry Division Hospital in Camp General Vicente Lukban, Samar.
