YAKAP health caravan serves 1,600 in Sulu

The government’s Yaman ng Kalusugan Program para Malayo sa Sakit (YAKAP) benefitted up to 1,600 people at an elementary school in Sulu, according to the Department of Education (DepEd) on Tuesday.

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara attended the event at the Kawmpang Elementary School in Patikul, Sulu. Students, teachers, parents and more from the Kawmpang Elementary School and the Martirez Elementary School were served at the event.

"Sa pagdadala natin ng YAKAP health caravan dito sa Patikul at sa pormal na pagpapasailalim ng SDO (Schools Division Office) Sulu sa DepEd Region IX, tinutupad natin ang utos ng Pangulo na magdala ng mabilis at direktang serbisyo habang pinapatibay ang suporta sa edukasyon sa buong lalawigan,” Angara said in a statement from DepEd.

(When we bring the YAKAP health caravan here in Patikul and with the formal inclusion of the SDO Sulu into the DepEd Region IX, we are implementing Marcos’ order that service should be direct while strengthening support to the province.)

During the caravan, students and teachers received medical checkups and primary care consultations. There were also dental services, vision screenings, and mental health screenings, according to the DepEd.

There was also Philhealth registration and ID issuance services.

The Supreme Court had ruled that Sulu was not a part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao. Marcos later decreed that Sulu was under the region of Zamboanga Peninsula.

Prior to the YAKAP caravan event, Marcos also led the opening of the Sulu Hall of Justice, where he vowed the proper integration of Sulu into the Zamboanga Peninsula. Marcos said that there will be a proper integration of Sulu government personnel into the provincial government.

“Tinitiyak natin na ang ating mga guro ay patuloy na makakapaglingkod at maa-absorb sa bagong administrative na setup,” Marcos said in his earlier speech.

(We guarantee that our teachers who are serving will be absorbed into the new administrative setup.) —Jean Mangaluz/NB, GMA News