More veterans’ hospitals eyed

PRESIDENT Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. will expand veterans’ healthcare infrastructure and sustain fiscal support for former soldiers as his administration moves to widen access to medical services for those who served the country.

Speaking at the 84th Day of Valor in Bataan on Thursday, Mr. Marcos said his administration is working to establish additional veterans’ hospitals in Visayas and Mindanao, alongside scaling up services under existing programs such as the Veterans Access to Lifetime Optimized Healthcare clinics.

“This is why we continue to work closely with the Philippine Veterans Affairs Office to establish veterans hospitals in the Visayas and in Mindanao — making healthcare more accessible to those who have long served our nation,” he said.

He said benefit disbursements will be sustained, with nearly 147,000 pensioners receiving monthly assistance and education support continuing for dependents.

Meanwhile, Vice-President Sara Duterte-Carpio said the commemoration is a call to defend national sovereignty, warning against what she described as foreign interference in domestic institutions.

She said the legacy of Bataan underscores the need to uphold the rule of law and maintain an independent justice system, adding that “the defense of our Republic is a continuous duty that falls upon every generation.”

Araw ng Kagitingan or the Day of Valor is observed every April 9 to commemorate the fall of Bataan in 1942 during World War II and honor the heroism of Filipino and allied forces who resisted Japanese occupation. — Chloe Mari A. Hufana