President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. marked his 68th birthday with public service programs that focus on healthcare, more efficient transportation, and job generation.
The President visited the Valenzuela Medical Center to personally check the implementation of the zero-balance billing (ZBB) policy, which aims to ensure that Filipinos, particularly the poor and vulnerable, can access affordable and quality healthcare.
Under the ZBB, patients in Department of Health-run hospitals no longer need to pay for medical services, medicines, or doctors’ professional fees.
DOH data showed that daily average admissions in its hospitals increased to 4,067 from 3,297 after the policy’s announcement.
Mr. Marcos, who was joined by First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos and their son, Joseph Simon Marcos, also led the relaunch of the “Love Bus,” the iconic 1970s transport service, as a fleet of electric buses offering free rides in Metro Manila.
The “Love Bus Libreng Sakay” program was unveiled at the Valenzuela Gateway Complex.
“Please enjoy our new Love Bus to reduce fares, save a little, reduce traffic, and reduce pollution because it is electric,” Mr. Marcos said.
The new fleet of 20 units will operate from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. Persons with disabilities and senior citizens may ride for free at all times, while other commuters will have free rides during peak hours, from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
All passengers can ride free for the month of September.
Each bus can carry 20 seated passengers, 10 standing passengers, and four wheelchairs. Accessibility features include ramps and dedicated spaces for PWDs.
Other government departments also launched job fairs and medical caravans to mark the President’s natal day.
More than 98,000 jobs and PHP559 million worth of livelihood assistance were rolled out during simultaneous job fairs, livelihood awarding, and payout activities across different job fair sites nationwide, the Department of Labor and Employment said.
Before this, the department urged job applicants to bring their resumé, diplomas, transcripts of records, government clearances, and employment certificates if previously employed before going to the fair.
The initiative, dubbed “Handog ng Pangulo 2025,” is part of the President’s push to expand access to decent work and sustainable livelihood programs.
The “Handog ng Pangulo” caravan provided various medical services to more than 36,000 Filipinos nationwide, the Department of Health said yesterday.
The DOH said at least 13,000 from Luzon benefited from the health services, 5,000 in the Visayas, and 18,000 in Mindanao.
“These services are in line with the goal of President Bongbong Marcos Jr. to bring free and quality medical services closer to the public,” the DOH said in a statement.
The caravan featured preventive health care, including newborn screening; active case finding of tuberculosis; consultations; mobile X-ray; glucose, uric acid, and cholesterol testing; and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) screening.
