Defense Secretary Gilberto C. Teodoro Jr. marked the first anniversary of the Fernando Air Base Veterans Access to Lifetime Optimized Healthcare (VALOR) Clinic in Lipa City, Batangas, highlighting significant progress in bringing healthcare to Filipino veterans and their dependents. In its first year, the clinic expanded operations from once a week to five days a week, with monthly patient volume surging from 200 to roughly 1,000.
To build on this growth, Teodoro emphasized integrating the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) medical system with the Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) to focus on early intervention.
“The clients of the AFP medical system will be clients of the VMMC, and the sooner we can mitigate their conditions through preventive healthcare, the less problems we will have when they get older,” Teodoro said.
To sustain operations and address staffing and logistical challenges, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. has committed an additional P40 million in funding this year.
Beyond veterans’ care, Teodoro announced mental wellness initiatives and a pre-retirement transition counseling program for active-duty personnel.
To reduce patient wait times, the VALOR Network plans to partner with local hospitals while expanding new clinic sites to Cagayan de Oro, Tarlac City and potentially Fort Magsaysay.
Meanwhile, VMMC is undergoing major rehabilitation, including a larger outpatient department and specialized research facilities, to serve as the ultimate high-tier referral center.
“The VMMC will be a high-quality, high-tier specialized medical center for cases that cannot be remedied by any other medical facility or the AFP medical center for active-duty personnel,” Teodoro added. “So that is the roadmap right now. And that’s where we will go.”