‘Libreng Gamot para sa Masa’ expands coverage
THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) has expanded their Libreng Gamot para sa Masa (Lingap sa Masa) medical service for indigent individuals.
Leah Quintana, information officer of DSWD-7, said the program with P131-million budget is a great help to the patients, especially the indigent ones.
Lingap sa Masa, a program under the Duterte administration, was now renamed as Lingap at Gabay Para sa May Sakit (LinGaP sa MaSa) under Memorandum Circular number 2 series of 2017.
She said that aside from free medicines, the program also provides free prosthetics, assistive devices, laboratory procedures and medical supplies to patients who cannot afford them.
Under the new guidelines, target beneficiaries of the program were also expanded.
“We expanded the coverage of the program. Before, only government employees can avail, but now, their immediate family members are also included,” Quintana said.
Other beneficiaries are contractual workers working in the government and their immediate family members, informal sector who were listed under the DSWD’s Listahan ng Mahihirap na Pamilya database, and the family of soldiers and police who were killed or wounded in the line of duty, Quintana said.
She said patients or their representatives should only bring the requirements to avail of the free health services.
Requirements include valid identification card of the patient, certificate of indigency issued by the barangay, doctor’s prescription, and an authorization letter if a patient sends his/her representative.
For government contractual and regular employees and their immediate families, and police or soldiers who were killed or wounded, a certification from the barangay or from a medical social worker of the hospital which states the need for assistance is required.
Quintana said the free medical services can only be availed in public hospitals like Vicente Sotto Memorial Medical Center in Cebu and Governor Celestino Gallares Memorial Hospital in Tagbilaran City, Bohol.
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