SAN FERNANDO CITY, La Union - For Mr. Romie Timbreza, the provision of health services and devices by the Department of Health - Center for Health Development (DOH-CHD) in their far-flung town on October 26 is Godsent, knowing the scarcity of services that reach their area.

According to Timbreza, one of the IP beneficiaries who were provided with crutches, the assistance does not only provide him with an opportunity to be more mobile but also provides an opportunity for a new life, one in which he knows that government programs are within reach. 

"Agyaman nak ken datoy nayted nga tulong kadakami. Dakkel nga banag daytoy ta narigat iti panagbiyag mi (We are thankful for the help given to us. This is significant because of how difficult our lives are)," Timbreza said.

Timbreza is one of 19 IP senior citizens and persons with disabilities who were provided with medical devices during the DOH-CHD 1’s Bagong Pilipinas para sa mga Katutubo caravan, as the agency looks to provide health services to vulnerable sectors in Geographically Isolated and Displaced Areas (GIDA) in La Union province. 

The activity brought primary health care services to around 1,500 indigenous peoples (IP) living in the town, with the joint effort of the DOH-CHD 1 staff and personnel from the local government unit of San Gabriel.

The activity provided Oral Poliovirus Vaccines (OPV) for indigenous children as well as the distribution of different medical devices such as wheelchairs, crutches, canes, Barangay Health Station (BHS) packages, first aid kits, Herbal Medicine Access Program (HerbMAP) kits, nutri boxes, and pregnancy kits.

This is the fourth time that this caravan was held in the Ilocos Region for 2023 and the first time in La Union.

Earlier this year, caravans were also held in Sison, Pangasinan and Nueva Era, Ilocos Norte, catering to IPs in these areas. 

La Union Governor Raphaelle Veronica “Rafy” David-Ortega, who graced the said event, recognized the assistance provided by the DOH which provided the health needs of the IPs in the town. 

“Lubos po ang aking pasasalamat to our national government agencies, especially to the DOH, sa pag-initiate [nitong] caravan upang mailapit ang mga kinakailangang medical and health services sa ating mga IPS dito sa San Gabriel,” Governor Ortega-David said. 

1st District Representative Francisco Paolo P. Ortega V, who also attended the caravan, said that his office has been working round-the-clock in order to provide the necessary medical assistance to the people not just in San Gabriel but in the whole of the 1st District of La Union.

“Nag-start na po ang Bagong Pilipinas caravan and we are directly going down to the people, binababa po ang mga basic services sa mga tao, which is the essence of governance, na may access ang mga tao sa mga serbisyo ng gobyerno,” Congressman Ortega V said. 

IP communities in the Philippines, who usually live in ancestral domains, experience socio-economic challenges and degradation of resource bases according to the International Labor Organization (ILO), making it imperative to bring programs closer to them in order to increase their capacities for development. 

Additionally, a research by the Philippine Journal of Science (PJS) in 2022 shows that IP communities remain one of the most marginalized sectors of society, and suffer from pervasive problems of undernutrition in the form of stunting, being underweight, and micronutrient deficiencies particularly among the adolescents. (JCR/AMB/MJTAB/CCMT, PIA La Union)