Yesterday was Eman’s schedule to get measles vaccine. Here in the Philippines you have two options to get your child vaccinated. If you have plenty of money or you just want to avoid the hassle of long queue and heat, go to the private clinics where you pay around P1,000 to P1,500. And if you are like me with not much money to spare or you are frugal mom, then going to the Barangay Public Health Center is your best option. It should be FREE but centers have different policies. In Kabacan they only have a small donation box and it’s not compulsory to drop but I always put in P20.00 or P50.00. In Trento, Agusan del Sur we are asked to pay and they issue official receipt. They always ask me to pay P40.00 each visit but I overheard the midwife ask the mother beside me “Kaya nimo bente?” (Can you afford twenty?). I think they make an assessment based on your physical appearance and on what stuffs you bring. We always bring the camera and I always dress Eman in nice outfit. That might be the reason.
But everyone can wear nice outfit if they just know how to find one in ukay-ukay (gently used clothes from abroad).
Okay back in the Health Centers. Here in Mintal I was asked to pay P20.00. I didn’t bother to ask what was it for. We were there last January 20 but we just went home tired and hungry. I was just thankful that I woke up in the right side of bed because if not, I could have given them my two cents.
Read more… »






