DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/28 Sept) — The City Health Office is ready to help Dabawenyo and Ramon Magsaysay awardee Randy Halasan address the health situation in the hinterland village where he teaches, City Health Officer Josephine Villafuerte said.
Villafuerte said they were willing to send a doctor to Pegalongan in Marilog District starting October.
A new doctor has been assigned to the Marilog health district, Villafuerte added.
She also said a team that did massive immunization in the area in partnership with the Department of Health had just come down from the area last week.
Halasan, the lone Mindanawon among six Ramon Magsaysay awardees this year, hear earlier sought assistance for his predominantly Matigsalog community in the hinterlands.
Pegalongan has 60 families or about 400 residents, Halasan said.
Mayor Rodrigo Duterte had earlier told Halasan to ask him directly if he needs anything for his community.
Halasan said he was working on a poverty alleviation project aimed to be completed by 2020. “By that time, everyone in the area should rise above poverty,” he said.
Halasan was awarded the Ramon Magsaysay for his efforts in teaching the hinterland school that is accessible after a seven-hour travel – two hours by bus, another hour by habal-habal motorcycle and the rest a trek to the hinterland village, crossing two treacherous rivers — and for spreading his advocacy beyond the classroom.
With Pegalongan being hours away from immediate basic social services, Halasn helped the community by contributing some of his school’s medical supplies whenever someone fell ill.
“The common complaints are colds and coughs, but there could be more,” he said, adding, “that’s why we need a doctor to visit us at least once a month.”
Halasan said the city government was very supportive of his advocacy in the area.
“Mayor Duterte said he was behind me all the way for our hanging bridge project,” he said, adding that several congressmen have also pledged to course funds through the Department of Public Works and Highways for the project’s implementation. (MindaNews)
