ILOILO – The provincial government has been selected as one of the 18 local government units (LGUs) finalists for the 2024 Galing Pook Awards.
Dr. Maria Socorro Colmenares-Quiñon, head of the Iloilo Provincial Health Office (IPHO), announced the news on Friday, September 13.
The selection marks Iloilo’s opportunity to once again showcase its innovative governance and community health initiatives at the national level.
Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr. is scheduled to present the province’s entry, “Puso Para sa Puso – Movement for Healthy Hearts Towards MoRProGRes Iloilo”, to the Galing Pook panel on October 23, 2024, in Metro Manila.
This program aims to secure the province its second Galing Pook award by demonstrating effective strategies to reduce cardiovascular disease risks among its residents through the control of hypertension.
Launched by the Galing Pook Foundation in 1993, the awards are designed to recognize local government programs that effectively address community challenges and can serve as models for good governance.
Iloilo’s entry builds on the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Healthy Hearts Program, which it was the first LGU in the Philippines to adopt in 2021.
The program focuses on a comprehensive approach involving promoting healthy lifestyles, implementing evidence-based treatment protocols, ensuring access to essential medicines for non-communicable diseases, and deploying effective monitoring systems.
The province began piloting the Healthy Hearts Program initially in the towns of Oton, Tigbauan, Guimbal, Miag-ao, San Joaquin, Igbaras, and Tubungan.
In June 2023, the program expanded to include 16 additional towns, significantly broadening its impact.
In early September 2024, the Galing Pook Committee, led by former Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) Undersecretary Austere Panadero and Professor Ruben Gamala from the University of the Philippines – Visayas, conducted a site validation of the program as part of the award evaluation process.
Governor Defensor took a hands-on approach in the presentation to the committee, emphasizing the province’s commitment to enhancing public health through targeted interventions.
Iloilo Province previously earned its first Galing Pook award on October 12, 2023, for the “Zero to Limpyo Iloilo: Movement for a Province-wide ZOD” which focused on mobilizing communities towards sustainable sanitation through the Zero Open Defecation (ZOD) Movement./PN
