Free health services and program assistance under the ‘Handog ng Pangulo: Serbisyong Sapat Para sa Lahat’ caravan have been made available to more than 47,000 teachers, non-teaching personnel, learners, and parent beneficiaries nationwide, according to the Department of Education (DepEd) on Monday.
This comes as the government health drive was rolled out across 91 public schools nationwide, in line with the directives of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr.
In a statement, DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara said this multi-agency initiative seeks to make government services more accessible to Filipinos, especially those in the education sector.
“Sa pamamagitan ng ating pakikipagtulungan sa PhilHealth at iba pang ahensya sa Handog ng Pangulo, sinisiguro natin na ang ating mga guro, mag-aaral, at kanilang mga pamilya ay may access sa libre at de-kalidad na pangangalagang pangkalusugan (Through our partnership with PhilHealth and other agencies in the Handog ng Pangulo, we are ensuring that our teachers, learners, and their families have access to free and quality healthcare),” he said.
Besides PhilHealth, the DepEd also partnered with the Department of Health (DOH) and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).
Among the services provided are streamlined access to PhilHealth programs such as on-site registration for new PhilHealth members and the issuance of official PhilHealth IDs and Member Data Records (MDR).
It also rolled out the school-based Yaman ng Kalusugan Program (YAKAP) alongside the designation of YAKAP primary care clinics, initial medical consultations and preventive health registration, as well as distribution of essential medicines under the GAMOT program.
“Naniniwala tayo na ang malusog na komunidad ng paaralan ang pundasyon ng mas mahusay na pagkatuto (We believe that a healthy school community is a foundation of excellent learning),” Angara said.
“Kung alaga ang kalusugan ng ating mga guro at mag-aaral, mas magiging produktibo at masigla ang ating mga silid-aralan (If the well-being of our teachers and learners is taken care of, our classrooms will be more productive and livelier).”
The school-based caravan was scheduled alongside the wellness break in public schools nationwide to provide essential healthcare services without causing class disruptions.
Overall, the Handog ng Pangulo has 47,600 target beneficiaries, including about 22,000 teachers, 18,700 learners, 6,000 parents and guardians, and 900 non-teaching personnel. (PNA)
