THE 1901st Philippine Army Ready Reserve Infantry Brigade spearheaded a Joint Civic Action in Sevilla, Bohol, over an hour’s drive from the provincial capital, Tagbilaran, in its continuing mission to serve the marginalized areas of Region 7.
On the day previous a courtesy call was made at the Governor’s Mansion by Brigade Commander Erik Miguel Espina to kick off the joint effort with Bohol Governor Edgar Chatto as the local government partner.
Colonel Erik Espina is the youngest son of former Cebu Governor and Senator Rene Espina.
Army reservists volunteers and regular personnel from the Central Command headed by Deputy Centcom Brig. General Allan Arrohado attended the civic action, with Lt. Colonel Castor Bahin of the 7th Regional Community Defense Group; Lt. Colonel Crispin Barrete of the Bohol 702nd Community Defense Company, 1st Bohol Ready Reserve Battalion.
Also: Lt. Colonel Dodgie Belloga as commanding officer of the 47th Infantry Battalion, 5th TAS Group, 5th ARCEN, Philippine Air Force, 511th Naval Reserve Squadron, 1305th Dental Dispensary, with the NAVFORCEN, Philippine Navy involved in providing the barge which left Cebu for Tubigon, Bohol.
Others who participated in the charity endeavor were the Department of Health’s Region VII director Dr. Jaime Bernadas and the nurses under the DOH Nurses for Deployment Program.
More civilian partners were the office of the Presidential Adviser for the Visayas, Sevilla PNP, Johndorf Ventures Corp., Visayan Nazarene Bible College, 360 Pharmacy, Bohol Quality Corp., Alturas Group of Companies, Dunkin Donuts, Alpha Mu Sigma Phi Fraternity, and the University of Bohol.
A total of 1,969 patients were services beneficiaries of this joint charity work, including 400 returning drug users undergoing a seminar by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency.
Services rendered included free medical treatment and medicines, dental, haircut, legal, spiritual, feeding, story book reading for children, massage, distribution of seedlings, and seminar on violence vs. women, etc.
The 1901st Brigade, named “Outstanding Army Ready Reserve Unit for 2016” by the Army Reserved Command based in Camp Riego de Dios in Tanza, Cavite, accomplished its last quarter mission with four Tallied outreach programs.
These were in the mountain barangay of Ibo Danao, in Camotes Island, Sevilla in Bohol, and Barangay Pawa in Dumanjug, Cebu.
There was a total of 6786 beneficiaries and a minimum estimate of P945, 170 pesos in “cost-benefit” with self-generated sourcing, independent of AFP budget, for charity added to the previous tally of roughly P4M pesos and 8163 recipients of the free help initiatives.