To strengthen primary health care of its residents, the Pasig City Government and Unilab Foundation Inc. (ULF) have joined forces by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will also improve local health financing and Philippine Health Insurance Corporation (PhilHealth) processes, and expand mental health support for students and communities.
Pasig City Mayor Victor Ma. Regis N. Sotto and ULF Executive Director Atty. Jose Maria ‘Joey’ A. Ochave, signed the MOU that states the partnership seeks to ‘strengthen Pasig City’s primary healthcare system, enhance fiscal efficiency in local health financing, provide technical support for the implementation of school mental health program, and support systemic improvements in PhilHealth utilization and claims performance.’
Under the agreement, the two parties will work to improve how residents access and navigate health services, with particular attention to primary care, PhilHealth utilization, claims processing, and school-based mental health.
The collaboration supports the implementation of Republic Act No. 11223, or the Universal Health Care Act, which automatically includes all Filipinos in the National Health Insurance Program and places greater emphasis on primary and preventive care.
While the law provides the national framework, much of its implementation takes place at the local level, where city governments must link facilities, health workers, referrals, financing, patient information and PhilHealth processes.
Local financing
The initiative will be implemented through the Pasig Local Health Board together with ULF’s Sustainable Healthcare and Heads Up PH programs. The Pasig-ULF partnership will focus on three major areas.
The first is local health financing. The partners will review how health expenditures are managed, assess PhilHealth benefit utilization and examine the accuracy and timeliness of claims filing and reimbursement.
The review is expected to identify ways for Pasig to maximize available PhilHealth revenues, reduce delays in reimbursements and improve the financial sustainability of local health services.
UHC-related processes
The second area involves the operation of UHC-related processes across Pasig health facilities.
The partners will identify bottlenecks in PhilHealth YAKAP registration, documentation, claims submission, facility accreditation and related procedures. They will also explore simplified workflows and possible digital solutions aimed at reducing administrative burdens and making health services easier for residents to use.
Mental Health
A third major component is school-based mental health.
Through Heads Up PH, ULF will provide technical assistance and capacity-building to help school personnel recognize early signs of mental health concerns, promote supportive environments and establish appropriate referral pathways to qualified professionals.
The program will also identify gaps in coordination among schools, families, communities and health service providers.
The objective is not to turn teachers into mental health practitioners, but to equip them with the knowledge and systems needed to recognize concerns early and connect students to appropriate support.
The MOU emphasizes that effective mental health care requires integration with a broader health system that provides continuity across preventive, promotive, curative, and rehabilitative services.
The need for such support remains significant. The World Health Organization estimates that one in seven adolescents worldwide experiences a mental health condition, with anxiety and depression among the leading causes of illness and disability among young people.
The Pasig-ULF initiative will use measurable indicators to track progress in referral efficiency, PhilHealth utilization, claims performance, patient navigation, and school mental health programs. Quarterly reviews will be used to assess results and adjust implementation where necessary.
ULF has been involved in several initiatives supporting Universal Health Care and local health-system reforms.
Likewise, the foundation has partnered with the Ateneo School of Government on research into how local governments can optimize health spending under the UHC Law, with technical collaboration from the Department of Budget and Management. It has also worked with Ormoc City to strengthen health delivery in geographically isolated and disadvantaged communities and has partnered with the Union of Local Authorities of the Philippines to help accelerate local UHC implementation.
In Pasig, these experiences will be adapted to the city’s specific needs.
Pasig City Government will provide local leadership, health personnel, facilities, and operational knowledge, while ULF will contribute research, technical expertise, and program-development support.