LA TRINIDAD, Benguet (PIA) — Close to 2,000 residents of the capital town of Benguet benefitted from the recent HEALTHIER Benguet Caravan.
People from all walks of life in La Trinidad availed of the various services and programs provided during the La Trinidad leg of the caravan held at the Benguet Sports Complex in Wangal on January 17, 2025.
Gov. Melchor Diclas led the caravan with La Trinidad Mayor Romeo Salda and Board Members Marie Rose Fongwan-Kepes and Joel Tingbaoen. Also present were the heads and representatives from the departments of the provincial and municipal local government units.
“We, at the provincial government, came up with this HEALTHIER caravan to bring various services to the municipalities in the province. We also tapped our partners from the other government line agencies to also provide their basic services alongside with the provincial government,” Diclas said.
The activity is in line with the HEALTHIER Benguet development thrust of the provincial government which stands for Health, Education, Agriculture, Livelihood, Tourism, Human Resource, Infrastructure, Environment, and Responsive Governance.
Provincial Health Officer Dr. Meliarazon Dulay said most of the beneficiaries availed of the medical and dental services provided by the PHO, in partnership with the La Trinidad Municipal Health Services Office.
She said that even in the other towns of Benguet, the medical and dental services are being flocked. Most of the cases are noncommunicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes. There were also some cases for minor surgical operations, and laboratory services.
“This caravan is a big help for our kailians (province mates). Most of the beneficiaries are those seeking medical and dental consultations, treatments, surgical operations and laboratory tests. Although we are encouraging residents to seek medical advice from doctors in their localities, in the barangay health stations and rural health units, the caravan provides various services from diagnostics and screenings, labs, x-ray and ultrasound that sometimes could not be availed in the BHS and RHUs,” Dulay said.
Assistive devices were also distributed to those in need.
Additional services included paralegal services for simple notarization of documents, legal advice, and Real Property Tax collection.
There were also veterinary services for spaying and neutering, consultation, anti-rabies vaccination, deworming, and treatment of pets and farm animals, and distribution of fertilizers and seedlings.
The Provincial Environment and Natural Resources Office also provided tree seedlings to various groups and organizations in the municipality.
Also present were the Philippine Statistics Authority for the issuance of national ID and certificates, Philhealth for the Philhealth Konsulta, the Professional Regulatory Commission for renewal of PRC ID and certification / authentication of documents, and the Philippine National Police-Civil Security Unit-Cordillera for the issuance of License to Own and Possess Firearms.
According to Diclas, La Trinidad is the last municipality to be catered by the caravan. He assured to continue and even expand the activity with additional services including those from the other government line agencies.
He said the upcoming caravans will now be brought to the different barangays in Benguet putting priority to the geographically isolated and depressed areas and the far-flung barangays in the province. (JDP/RMC- PIA CAR)
