House Speaker Ferdinand Martin Romualdez. Photo courtesy: House of Representatives
EMPHASIZING that the country’s war veterans deserve the highest quality of service from the government—especially in their twilight years—Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez on Sunday assured full congressional support for President Ferdinand “Bongbong” R. Marcos Jr.’s advocacy to enhance veterans’ access to healthcare services, particularly in areas outside Metro Manila.
“The valor of our veterans and soldiers can never be fully repaid. But in recognition of their invaluable contributions to our nation, we in the House of Representatives, in support of President Marcos’ program, will work to ensure healthcare services, treatments, and medicines are always within their reach,” Speaker Romualdez said.
He issued the statement following President Marcos’ launch of the pilot site of the Veterans Access to Lifetime Optimized Healthcare (Valor) Clinic at Fernando Air Base in Lipa City, Batangas.
A program of the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC), the Valor Clinic is designed to meet the healthcare needs of underserved veterans, retired soldiers, and their families.
Speaker Romualdez committed to personally ensuring that initiatives to deliver primary healthcare services to veterans and retirees will be adequately funded under the annual General Appropriations Act.
“With the incoming 20th Congress poised to deliberate on the Executive branch’s National Expenditure Program for 2026, we will make sure that the establishment of more Valor Clinics in underserved areas receives ample support in the national budget,” he added.
He echoed President Marcos’ position that the welfare of veterans, retirees, and active-duty soldiers must remain a government priority.
“They have sacrificed so much for our country so that we may live in peace and prosperity. Their well-being, especially their health, should always be safeguarded,” the House leader emphasized.
The Valor Clinic initiative aims to decentralize the VMMC’s services by establishing a network of primary care clinics in military installations and hospitals nationwide to address the needs of more than 400,000 veterans, retired soldiers, and their dependents, who remain largely underserved due to logistical and financial limitations.
The government is also considering expanding the scope of the program to include civilian employees of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP).
As envisioned, the Valor Program will roll out in three phases and targets the establishment of 15 clinics nationwide by 2028. Each clinic will be staffed with highly trained medical teams connected via telehealth to the VMMC and will provide services such as immunizations, diagnostic tests, consultations, and maintenance medications. Preventive medicine and chronic care management will also be among their key services.
In the first phase, Valor Clinics will be established at the following sites: Fernando Air Base in Batangas, Northern Luzon Command in Tarlac, Fort Bonifacio General Hospital in Taguig City, Southern Luzon Command in Quezon, and Camp Riego de Dios in Cavite City.
Under the second phase, additional clinics will be located at: Eastern Mindanao Command in Davao City, Western Mindanao Command in Zamboanga City, Brigadier General Benito Ebuen Air Base Hospital in Mactan, and Government Arsenal Medical Facility in Bataan.
The third and final phase includes clinics at: Kuta Major Cesar L. Sang-an Hospital in Zamboanga del Sur, Camp Peralta Station Hospital in Capiz, Camp Evangelista Station Hospital in Cagayan de Oro, Camp Melchor F. Dela Cruz Station Hospital in Isabela, Camp Siongco Station Hospital in Maguindanao, and 8th Infantry Division Hospital in Camp General Vicente Lukban, Samar.
Speaker Romualdez has consistently supported initiatives to promote the welfare of the country’s veterans, including the enactment of Republic Act No. 11958, which rationalized the disability pension of veterans.
The measure is a consolidation of Senate Bill 1480 and House Bill 7939, which was passed by the House under Speaker Romualdez’s leadership in May 2023 and signed into law by President Marcos in August of the same year.
The law significantly increased monthly disability pensions for veterans who were disabled due to service-related sickness, injuries, or wounds. Monthly benefits now range from ₱4,500 to ₱10,000, depending on the extent of disability.
