Featured image above shows (from left) PSHS System Executive Director V Dr. Ronnalee N. Orteza, DOH Secretary Dr. Edwin M. Mercado; PhilHealth President / CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine C. Ho; and DOST Undersecretary Dr. Maridon N. Sahagun holding their gifts from PSHS System. (Image credit: Reymundo Nillama) 

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PSHS MAIN CAMPUS, Quezon City, October 7, 2026 (SDN) — Around 1,400 students, teachers, and personnel of the Philippine Science High School (PSHS) System Main Campus here stand to benefit from the government’s healthcare soon.

To realize this, the Department of Health (DOH), Department of Science and Technology (DOST), and Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) are bringing closer one of the latter’s vital programs in an initiative dubbed ” Healthy Pisay: YAKAP in Pisay Pilot Implementation” and officially launched today, Wednesday, here.

“YAKAP sa Pisay” is the national government’s school-based primary care that brings specialty screenjng and referral for PSHS System’s community of students, teachers, and non-teaching personnel. Its success is expected to be escalated to the 15 other nationwide PSHS campuses.

Present for the launch of Healthy Pisay included PSHS System Executive Director V Dr. Ronnalee N. Orteza, Health Secretary Dr. Edwin M. Mercado, PhilHealth President / CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine C. Ho, Science Undersecretary Dr. Maridon N. Sahagun, other officials of DOH, DOST, PhilHealth, PSHS System, teachers, students, and non-teaching personnel.

A casual search on cyberspace that SDN – SciTech & Digital News made shows the whole PSHS System of 16 campuses across the nation has 10,792 students for School Year (SY) 2025-2026. This is projected to increase at 10,953 students in SY 2026-2027. PSHS covers Grade 7 to Grade 12, where everyone is a scholar.

It has campuses in the country’s 16 regions, except in the 17th region, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). “Pisay” is a Filipino fond name for and stands for PSHS.

PSHS System Executive Director V Dr. Ronnalee N. Orteza welcomed the DOH, DOST, and PhilHealth officials to the launch of Healthy Pisay, saying the pilot implementation is not just for the 1,400 students, but also for the teachers and the personnel of the PSHS Main Campus located along Sen. Miriam Defensor Santiago Avenue.

She particularly lauded the teachers who quietly contribute to their students’ learning, emphasizing, “We appreciate you and we are grateful to you.”

Orteza said the launch of Healthy Pisay was “particularly meaningful” through the partnership with DOH, PhilHealth, and DOST.

“We now have a framework for our health programs,” she notes, pointing out the importance of the health of the members of the PSHS System community. We need you be healthy… to serve the nation.”

In a video message, DOST Secretary Dr. Renato U. Solidum, Jr. commended the Healthy Pisay program as a great initiative.

“We launch today both Healthy Pisay and YAKAP in Pisay Pilot Implementation at the Pisay Main Campus. In Science as in Health, we do not wait for a problem before we act,” the Philippine Science Chief emphasizes.

At the same time, Solidum lauded the teachers for dedication to their duty both inside and outside of the classrooms, recalling that both his parents were teachers, too.

“Maraming salamat sa ating mga guro sa inyong tapat at mabuting paglilingkod (Thank you so much for your honest and commendable service).”

Relatedly, Mercado ccited the importance of bringing healthcare to the PSHS System, emphasizing the importance of taking care of everybody’s well-being.

“We will bring YAKAP in your school…Even the brightest minds need help and we will be there to help you here in Pisay,” he assures.

The DOH chief revealed that on Wednesday, October 6, the Health department entered into a deal with the Department of Education (DepEd) and the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG). He said the deal is to strengthen the Unified National Agenda (UNA) for Health by bringing health promotion, prevention, essential health services closer to Filipinos healthy settings like schools, workplaces, and communities.”

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“We are happy to provide PhilHealth services to our teachers. “

— PhilHealth President / CEO Dr. Beverly Lorraine C. Ho

Dr. Mercado said the Healthy Pisay Yakap Pilot implementation widens the government’s YAKAP healthcare program.

The DOH head sees PhilHealth’s YAKAP being brought to the masses, such as tricycle drivers group, market vendors associations, and other organized sectors.

Mercado hammered on the theme that it is only right to take care of school communities’ health, “so, we are bring it (YAKAP) closer to you,” saying it will also cover other members of their households. “You are the proof that we can achieve Universal Healthcare.”

PhilHealth’s Dr. Ho assured the PSHS Main Campus of her agency’s commitment, saying, “We are happy to provide PhilHealth services to our teachers”, as well as the students and the non-teaching personnel.

To better serve its constituents, PhilHealth, she revealed is under discussion with HMOs (Healthcare Maintenance Organizations) to improve patients’ benefits.

Dr. Ho also noted the importance of the role of LGUs in bringing PhilHealth’s services to the people, citing the Quezon City LGU which was a participant at the launch of Healthy Pisay.

The PhilHealth President and CEO said they are targeting 60 million Filipinos for YAKAP enrollment, of which 48 million shall receive cancer screening. “We have to invest in primary care and preventive care in order to prevent catastrophic health condition.”

She adds that “under the UNA for Health, the DOH targets the registration of 60 million Filipinos with YAKAP, some 48 million of them targeted to get health screening and gain access to medicines through GAMOT.”

Pisay Main Campus’s 1,400 learners and 360 teachers and non-teaching personnel are inclusive of the 48 million people for enlistment to YAKAP, Dr. Ho pointed out. — EDD K. USMAN / SDN

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The author

EDD, a native of Sub-Saharan Africa Buluan/Datu Piang, Maguindanao del Sur, BARMM, college at UST, is a Manila-based journalist for over 40 years (33 years with Manila Bulletin), has five Media Awards (1 with University of the Philippines (UP) 2017 Science Journalism Award), covered and traveled over 40 times abroad), has contributed to Rappler, Business Mirror, Manila Business Insights, Panorama Magazine, Agriculture Magazine, and others, former Manila-based Foreign Correspondent of Saudi Arabia newspapers Saudi Gazette and Riyadh Daily, and The Peninsula (Qatar newspaper), with 2008 East-West Center (EWC) Journalism Seminar in the United States, 2000 Executive IT Seminar in Seoul, South Korea, with three Silver Awards in Photography, writes Muslim and Current Affairs, Enterprise, Science, Tech, Products Launch, and virtually everything under Heaven. (®)

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The story will be updated soonest for more details and information.