Health center built for Manobo community in Sultan Kudarat
By Danilo E. Doguiles / Philippine Information Agency
SENATOR NINOY AQUINO, Sultan Kudarat – A health center exclusively for a Manobo Dulangan community was inaugurated during the Retooled Community Support Program (RCSP) Serbisyo Caravan in Barangay Midtungok, Senator Ninoy Aquino Friday (November 13).
The tribal health center at Sitio Lemangga is managed by a Manobo midwife.
"This health center is one of a symbol that the government is actually a working government for the indigenous peoples," Datu Yahiya Sinenggayan, Sultan Kudarat provincial RCSP focal person, told Philippine Information Agency.
Sinenggayan said, during the RCSP team immersion at the barangay, that the community identified establishment of a health center that can cater to the needs of indigenous people among the top priorities in the list of projects, programs, and activities they desire the government would give them.
The tribal health center, located at the edge of Kulaman River in Sitio Lemangga, Barangay Midtungok, about 14 kilometers from the town center of Senator Ninoy Aquino (SNA), was created through collaboration.
Construction of the building was funded by the municipal government led by Mayor Randy Ecija Jr. with labor contributed by the community and troops of the the 7th Infantry (Tapat) Battalion of the Philippine Army. The municipal government also hired a Manobo Dulangan midwife to manage the health facility.
Meanwhile, the Provincial Government of Sultan Kudarat through Gov. Suharto Mangudadatu provided the initial supplies of medicine and equipment for the center. Supplies will be replenished regularly, Sinenggayan assured.
Mayor Ecija said the health center at Sitio Lemangga also serves residents in at least 11 more remote sub-villages.
Over 800 households, all of the Manobo Dulangan tribe, can access health services at the said health center, he added.
Primarily, the health center aims to serve as a birthing facility intended to prevent or at least reduce maternal deaths in the area. The community may also access regular check up, medicine, prenatal check up, immunization and other services from the tribal health center.
Mayor Ecija further emphasized that the hiring of a Manobo midwife is an advantage since it can potentially breach communication barrier between the clients and the health workers.
He explained that although there have been midwives as well as nurses assigned to villages through the Nurses Deployment Program of the Department of Health the indigenous people remain hesitant to come to health facilities because they are unable to fully express themselves.
"I believe that through this strategy we will be able to regain the trust and confidence of the residents to access health services such as prenatal check up, health care for children, and treatment for their illness," Mayor Ecija said. "Having a fellow Manobo managing the health center, it will be easier for these people to talk to their midwife and avail of services," he said.
For Aiza Sayaw, the Sitio Lemangga Tribal Health Center manager, the assignment is an opportunity to be of service.
"I am grateful to serve my own people," Sayaw said.
Sayaw completed midwifery course as one of the five scholars of the Ecija Family.
Like Mayor Ecija, Sayaw hopes she can encourage her fellow Manobo to access government health services.
"Most of the people here are hesitant to go to health centers and hospitals because they have difficulty in expressing themselves. Many among them will only bring sick family member to hospital when the patient is already in [critical] condition," Sayaw said. This, she added, is one thing she would like to change as a midwife to her fellow Manobo Dulangan.
Midtungok is one of the 103 barangays across SOCCSKSARGEN Region identified for the implementation of the Retooled Community Support Program, a whole-of-nation approach to end local armed conflict institutionalized in President Rodrigo Roa Duterte's Executive Order No. 70.
Being an RCSP barangay makes Midtungok eligible to receive P20 million development assistance package from the national government.
Mayor Ecija hopes that through RCSP, the road to the Midtungok will be paved and bridges will be built where the road crosses the Kulaman River.
The health center at Sitio Lemangga is about 14 kilometers from the town center. The road is unpaved and crosses the Kulaman River three times. (DED-PIA XII)