TACLOBAN CITY, July 28 -- The Philippine Health Insurance Corp. (PhilHealth) regional office here is optimistic that more members will register under the Yaman ng Kalusugan Program (YAKAP) after President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. highlighted the initiative during his fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA).

Acisclo Militante Jr., chief of the PhilHealth Eastern Visayas Field Operations Division, said about 1.7 million members in the region have been registered under YAKAP, representing the majority of the 2.01 million PhilHealth members targeted for the program this year.

"The pronouncement of President Marcos in his SONA is a good push for the program, especially since more people are now aware of it. This is a major milestone in impro...