Senator Camille Villar reiterated her push for the establishment of a ₱10-billion Cancer Medicine and Treatment Assistance Fund for indigent cancer patients.

The proposed fund, to be administered by the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth), will provide free cancer medicines and treatment through PhilHealth-accredited government hospitals in every province.

The program will be a joint project of PhilHealth with the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD), and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). 

The beneficiaries will be identified by these agencies.

“This bill is about saving lives. We have to make quality cancer care affordable and accessible to every Filipino,” said Villar, the youngest senator of the 20th Congress at 41 years old.

Villar said cancer remains one of the leading causes of death in the Philippines and continues to place a financial burden on Filipino families.

“A single chemotherapy session can cost up to ₱100,000," she noted.

By having a Cancer Fund, indigent patient can have access to early detection and timelyli treatment.

"No Filipino should be denied treatment—or forced into poverty—because of cancer,” she said.

Villar said healthcare remains a top priority in her legislative agenda. 

She has recently filed other health-related measures for vulnerable sectors of society.

-Paraluman News