Hontiveros brings free medical services, relief packs to solo parents, typhoon-hit residents of Pangasinan

Senator Risa Hontiveros on Friday led a medical and relief mission which provided thousands of solo parents and other typhoon-affected residents of Dagupan City, Pangasinan with free relief packs and or medical services to help them on their road to recovery.

Hontiveros, along with Dagupan City Mayor Belen Fernandez, met with at least 2,800 solo parents from 10 typhoon-hit barangays in the city, and helped distribute relief packages during a relief operation at the Dagupan City Hall.

In the same day, Hontiveros also joined the medical mission in Barangay Mayombo, where around 350 patients availed of free laboratory services like full blood chemistry tests, urinalysis, electrocardiogram (ECG), as well as free medical consultation and medicine.

"Matinding hamon sa kalusugan at kabuhayan ang hatid ng mga nagdaang bagyo sa mga pamilya sa Dagupan City, sa buong Pangasinan at sa iba pang kalapit na lalawigan. Doble ang pasakit ng mga mahihirap na pamilya at mga solo parents na mag-isang bumubuhay sa ating mga anak, kaya naman inilapit na namin sa inyo hindi lang ang ayuda, kundi pati libreng serbisyong medikal," Hontiveros said.

The aforementioned events were part of a 4-day relief and medical mission organized by Hontiveros's office in coordination with the Dagupan City government and solo parent organizations. The mission, as explained by Hontiveros, aims to provide medical care to residents living on 5 mainland barangays and 4 island barangays in Dagupan which were badly hit by typhoons Egay and Falcon.

Hontiveros said that she is working to help speed up the nationwide implementation of the Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act, which she said could directly benefit indigent solo parents struggling to make ends meet due to recent natural disasters.

"Malaki ang maitutulong ng mga benepisyo sa ilalim ng Expanded Solo Parents Welfare Act sa pagbangon ng mga solo parent na nasalanta ng bagyo, gaya ng buwanang P1,000 allowance para sa indigent solo parents. Bilang kapwa ninyo solo parent at bilang principal author ng batas na iyan, patuloy ang pakikipagtulungan natin sa national at local agencies para maihatid na ang mga benepisyo na para sainyo," she said.

Alongside relief and medical missions for Dagupan residents, the senator has earlier helped secure at least P20 million for the construction of the One Bonuan Tourism Development, a project intended to drive eco-tourism and development in the city.

Hontiveros is also known for her campaigns and programs to promote the health and livelihood of Filipinos, including the Healthy Pinas Mobile Clinic, which has provided free medical care to hundreds of thousands of Filipinos in far-flung areas since 2021.