'Lab for All' program goes to Pasig City

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Thursday assured the public that his administration would continue making health and government services more accessible to the people as he and first lady Liza Araneta-Marcos brought the "Libreng Laboratoryo, Konsulta at Gamot Para sa Lahat" or "Lab for All" caravan to Pasig City. In his speech, Marcos said the "Lab for All" project bridges the gap in the health care system, especially in the geographically isolated and disadvantaged areas, or those in far-flung areas. "Instead of waiting for the sick to go to the hospital, we will bring health services to them, no matter how far they are," the President said. "We will continue implementing programs so every region will have rural health units, doctors, nurses, ambulances, mobile health clinics, and other equipment," he added. Marcos assured the public they would bring the Lab for All caravans to more parts of the country. "This is not for just one day. We will make sure that more communities will be visited by this caravan," Marcos said, as he noted that health is a person's most priceless treasure. "All the riches in the world are useless if we are not healthy," he said. "But for our less fortunate countrymen, being sick is a big challenge, especially for those living in geographically isolated areas." A brainchild of the first lady, the Lab for All caravan is a flagship outreach program that offers an array of health services such as free consultation, free medicines and basic laboratory tests done in the Bagong Pilipinas mobile clinics. The caravan has already visited 35 locations across the country since it started in May 2023. The President thanked the first lady for her dedication to helping the public even without fanfare. "It's obvious that she is not a politician because we don't really talk about this great program. If a politician was running it, we would have seen a lot of publicity stunts, especially with the coming elections," Marcos said. "But the first lady doesn't think like that. She just wants to help and her Lab for All project is a big help for the people," he added. Aside from medical services, the Lab for All caravan in Pasig City also offered other government services, including scholarship grants by the Commission on Higher Education and the provision of assorted vegetable seeds and fruit tree seedlings by the Department of Agriculture. The Development Bank of the Philippines, Department of Interior and Local Government, Department of Health (DoH), Department of Social Welfare and Development, Department of Trade and Industry and the Food and Drug Administration also extended services to the public during the caravan. Other agencies that participated included the Land Transportation Office, National Housing Authority, Pag-IBIG, Public Attorney's Office, Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO), and the Philippine Health Insurance Corp. The Senate Public Assistance Office and the Technical Education And Skills Development Authority also extended their respective services during the Lab for All caravan. The national government has procured Bagong Pilipinas mobile clinics for deployment in every province and city in the National Capital Region. As of October 2, all 83 provinces have been provided with mobile clinics, complementing the capacity of existing health facilities and reaching more patients in remote and underserved areas. The President said the administration aims to provide mobile primary care facilities to all provinces and cities in Metro Manila with the help of the local government units (LGUs). "We will ensure that every town, every municipality, every LGU will have an ambulance," Marcos said. "Whoever needs an ambulance, we will provide for them. And PCSO is rich, they can provide two ambulances for each and LGU before my term ends," he added. The President also thanked private sector donors, the Metrobank and Toyota foundations, the LGUs and Filipinos for supporting the government's initiative.