(UPDATE) Highlighting the need to strengthen the country's healthcare system, vice presidential bet Willie Ong on Wednesday said he would go beyond promising medical supplies for a fixed number of days or months and instead provide support continuously as needed.
Alongside running mate Manila Mayor Isko Moreno, Ong said he would work to provide "libreng dialysis, mga libreng heart operation," he said.
Ong did not confine the support to a particular timeframe and instead promised to increase the number of people covered by free services. "Di malulunasan lahat ah. No empty promises, walang 12 months or 6 months, pero dadamihan natin 'yan," he said.
"'Yang health center pupunuin natin ng gamot 'yan, 'di pwedeng 7 days, 7 days, syempre kailangan bigay mo na 30 days o 100 days, kawawa naman eh," he said.
Back in 2016, then Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte running for president vowed to end crime and corruption in three to six months.
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COVID-19 vaccination is also a priority, according to Ong. "Yung mga darating, 'yung mga isasaksak, the best. Bibigay ko 'yung pinakatamang bakuna sa inyo," he said.
The doctor is fully vaccinated with the Sinovac vaccine and said other brands were also good. He said while nothing is 100% safe and risk-free, vaccines were 99% safe.
"Ang kalaban natin, COVID. Medical problem ito. Pag natapos na ito, mananahimik ako, walang problema," he said.
Ong is currently a member of Lakas-CMD, led by House Majority Leader Martin Romualdez.
The vice presidential aspirant has already asked permission from Romualdez to leave the party, according to the lawmaker's office. Once his exit from Lakas-CMD becomes final, Ong will join Moreno's party, Aksyon Demokratiko.
"We are about to process his entry with the membership committee. We are just waiting for his official resignation with Lakas," Aksyon chairman Ernest Ramel Jr. told reportr.
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