The Department of the Interior and Local Government urged punong barangays and Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams (BHERT) in the Cordillera to provide their active contact details to their constituents in cases of health emergencies.
“The department continues to receive complaints, issues, and concerns involving unavailable contact details of our barangays, the absence of BHERT members, and a lack of awareness of how critical the BHERT roles are, particularly during pandemic,” said DILG-CAR Director Araceli San Jose.
She said while much progress has been made in recent months and some provinces in the region have been placed on Covid-19 alert level 1, the threat of Covid-19 continues that is why it is imperative for the constituents to be provided with contact details of barangays, punong barangays, and BHERT as primary frontliners in the fight against the virus.
“We are urging our punong barangays to create their barangay’s official Facebook account or other social media accounts if not yet available and to ensure the creation of their BHERT page that includes active and other related information,” San Jose said.
PBs should also make sure their BHERT members are listed in their barangay directory for easier communication. They can also post tarpaulins in conspicuous public places within their barangay with active telephone numbers and other contact details for maximum dissemination.
“In our communities, BHERTs are our first-line responders. Let us all contribute to our community’s response. Let us be proactive and make an effort to identify our BHERTs so that we know who to listen to and who to seek assistance from if necessary,” San Jose said.
BHERTs, a community organization tasked in managing all Covid-19 related healthcare needs are also tasked to make sure that residents within their jurisdiction are all accounted for and are fully informed about the disease.
The DILG mandates the creation of the BHERT for every 5,000 population, composed of an executive officer, a barangay tanod, and two barangay health workers, one is preferably a nurse or a midwife to be appointed by the punong barangay.
DILG also encourages mayors to provide the necessary assistance and support to the barangays who provide health care services. – Pamela Geminiano
April 19, 2024
