Health caravan slated in Calamba for Valentine’s season

CALAMBA CITY, Laguna — The Calamba City government is launching a health caravan called "Dugong Bayani, Pusong Bayani" this Valentine's season to promote a healthy lifestyle for citizens.

The caravan will be visiting various barangays to conduct heart and blood check-ups as well as to inform and educate the public about the importance of these procedures and their long-term benefits in avoiding debilitating diseases. 

“Through this health caravan, we want to make sure that our fellow Calambeños know that their city government is here to help them as we are always making efforts to take care of their health and wellness. This has always been part of our advocacy to make sure our citizens are informed of the importance of regular checkups for our blood and our hearts and this project is one way of expressing our love for them this Valentine’s season in Calamba,” Calamba Mayor Ross Rizal said.

More than simply being known for being the birthplace of our national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, Calamba City is the most populous city in the province of Laguna and is the regional center of the CALABARZON Region.

The city is currently ranked in the Top 20 Wealthiest Cities in the country as of the 2022 Commission on Audit (COA) Financial Report and the city has been experiencing an economic recovery from the pandemic slump through reforms to improve their tourism, commercial, industrial sectors and has been improving steadily over the past years. 

Elected in 2022, Mayor Rizal has already launched a slew of projects to connect the government’s service directly to its people as part of his collective effort to renew the approach of public service in the City of Calamba. He has led by example by fostering this culture of participative governance and close collaboration with their citizens, the reforms that are made are closely felt by their constituents.

Entering this new year, he has already launched new programs that addressed the city’s needs in education, by launching institutionalized programs with an Iskolar ni Rizal Program with over 1000 beneficiaries, and Kabuhayan ni Rizal program, aimed to give livelihoods to over 1,600 families. He has also led the distribution of the Emergency Health Allowances for Barangay Health Workers and other healthcare personnel employed by the city government last Wednesday, February 7, 2024.

“As I’ve said during my campaign to be Mayor, I want everyone in our city to feel the reform that I am advocating for and these programs are but the tip of the iceberg; this is just the beginning and we are continuously working towards the vision of CalamBAGO, to be not only a prosperous city in name but a city that has compassion, in which the city government is the one approaching and helping people directly,” he said.

The health caravan, set to start on the last week of February, is a joint initiative of the local government and the private sector which aims to facilitate blood testing, blood donation, and heart check-ups with additional provisions for medication among the citizens of Calamba City. The group of volunteers to help this caravan is led by Jeorgiamed Inc., and various healthcare companies, healthcare workers conduct the medical procedures from their partner hospitals, and pharmaceutical companies to provide the medication for the patients. 

“We started to conceptualize this project just last December, to help our Mayor Ross Rizal in achieving his vision of a renewed Calamba and I highly encourage our fellow Calambeños to help us with this initiative,” Jeremy Elgin Tancangco, president and CEO of Jeorgiamed Inc., said in a statement.

“We do hope that we can raise awareness and appreciation of the importance of taking care of our heart and our overall health and create a network of healthcare volunteers to help us in times of need. We believe that by doing these acts of heroism, we live up to our slogan of Dugong Bayani, Pusong Bayani,” he added.