The system, once fully rolled out, aims to serve over 400,000 former servicemen and their families.
On Friday, June 27, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was joined by Defense Secretary Gibo Teodoro at the Fernando Air Base Hospital in Lipa City, Batangas for the launching of the new Veterans Access to Lifetime Optimized Healthcare (VALOR) Clinic.
The Veterans Memorial Medical Center (VMMC) spearheaded the launching of VALOR to decentralize healthcare access for for military veterans, retirees, and their dependents.
This will be carried out through a network of primary care services located in military treatment facilities and camps nationwide, which will be implemented in three phases through 2027.
Additionally, VALOR would also address their healthcare needs, which according to the government, remains underserved and is heavily concentrated at the VMMC in Quezon City—which is now handling about 260,000 outpatient visits annually.
Citing a study in 2024, the VMMC said that only about 26,500 unique individuals were served at their main hospital, which is only roughly 7 percent of the total target population.
Each clinic will be staffed with localized medical teams and equipped with telehealth links to VMMC, outsourced diagnostic tests, and a centralized system for maintenance medications.
Moreover, these facilities will also focus on preventive medicine, chronic care management, and health research, as well as services for the civilian defense community.
The Fernando Air Base site is one of five pilot facilities under Phase 1 of the project, with the other three located at the Northern Luzon Command in Tarlac, Fort Bonifacio General Hospital in Taguig City, Southern Luzon Command in Quezon Province; and Camp Riego De Dios in Cavite City.
Eventually, the VALOR clinics will be expanded to the Visayas and Mindandao.