Marcos launches health-care clinics for veterans, families
President Marcos on Friday assured soldiers and veterans of the government’s continued support as he formally launched an outpatient program aimed at improving their access to health care especially outside of Metro Manila.
Mr. Marcos visited the Fernando Air Base in Lipa City, Batangas, to inaugurate the first Veterans Access to Lifetime Optimized Healthcare (Valor) Clinic to cater to underserved veterans, retired soldiers and their families.
“We can never repay you for your service, but the government is here for you in your time of need. The government is also here to help you take care of your health and your welfare,” Mr. Marcos said.
In his “Talk to the Troops” speech after inspecting the clinic, he assured them the government is “highly, highly supportive” of the work the military and its civilian support personnel performs for the Philippines.
“We must continue to make sure that our troops, our airmen, our pilots, our staff, are all supported properly so you can do your jobs properly. Rest assured that this is not just for now. This will be a continuous effort,” he added.
The Valor Clinic is a project of the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) in Quezon City. There are more than 400,000 military veterans, retired soldiers, and their dependents who are mostly underserved by existing health-care programs.
Decentralization
The Valor Clinic will decentralize the health-care system for veterans and retired soldiers through a network of primary care services in military installations and military hospitals across the country.
“They can avail medical services like immunization, health screenings, early diagnosis, laboratory tests like X-rays, CT scans and MRI and telemedicine consultations for faster service,” said Presidential Communications Office Undersecretary and Malacañang press officer Claire Castro.
The Valor program will be implemented in three phases until 2028 expanding to military hospitals in the Visayas and Mindanao, she added.
The Fernando Air Base was identified as one of the pilot areas under the first phase of the program. Other Valor Clinics will be set up at the Northern Luzon Command in Tarlac, Fort Bonifacio General Hospital in Taguig City, Southern Luzon Command in Quezon, and Camp Riego De Dios in Cavite City.
The said clinics will also address preventive medicine, chronic care management, and health research. They will also extend health-care services for civilian employees of the military. However, it wasn’t indicated whether all services are free.
