The Department of Public Works and Highways ensured an accessible medical services for the residents of Barangay Bucari in the highland part of Leon, Iloilo by building a two-storey health center in the area.
Secretary Mark A. Villar said that the barangay health station was completed in the amount of P4.82 million by the DPWH Iloilo 4thDistrict Engineering Office (DEO) earlier this year.
The designated health center of Barangay Bucani has been providing first aid services, maternal and child healthcare, and other basic medical services to residents since its completion, Secretary Villar added.
Citing reports from DPWH Regional Office 6 Director Lea N. Delfinado, Secretary Villar noted the importance of having a healthcare facility in Barangay Bucari as it has been continuously gaining attention as one of the most visited tourist destinations in Iloilo for its cool climate, topography, and highland attractions and scenery such as the Bucari Pine Forest and Imoy Falls.
The presence of the healthcare facility in the said barangay, which is dubbed as the “Little Baguio” and the “Summer Capital of Iloilo,” is significant not only for its residents but also for local and foreign tourists who may need first aid and other emergency medical attention.
Serving as a community-based and patient-directed organization in this mountainous portion of the Iloilo Province, Barangay Bucari’s health center has also been beneficial to the residents from Leon town’s nearby barangays as well as the seven (7) barangays of the so-called “Seven Cities” in the neighboring town of Alimodian.
The timely delivery of this much-needed health facility has also been valuable in Iloilo’s fight against the COVID-19 pandemic as residents need not have go to district and city hospitals, preventing possible exposure to virus.