Clark Freeport, Pampanga —A total of 9,000 community volunteers, mostly mothers who are working on Pampanga’s civic projects, were presented by the provincial government to President Rodrigo R. Duterte during his visit here Thursday.
Gov. Lilia Pineda led the volunteers in the meeting also attended by second district Rep. Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corp. chairman Andrea Domingo, Vice Gov. Dennis Pineda and the mayors of Pampanga’s three cities and 19 towns.
Pineda said the volunteers were divided into 505 groups that serve as lookouts for any illegal activities in the barangays, including illegal drugs and environment degradation, apart from helping in their areas’ cleanliness and sanitation drives, calamity response, and peace and order activities.
Organized by the vice governor in coordination with local officials, the volunteer program aims to boost the government’s campaigns against illegal drugs and corruption and improve its public assistance programs, Dennis Pineda said.
Governor Pineda, meanwhile, told the President the volunteers will help in the speedy delivery of services from the provincial government, especially during calamities.
“They are also very active as partners in the program launched by Department of Interior and Local Governemnt program called Masa Masid in the barangays to fight against illegal drugs in Pampanga,” she said.
Earlier, Pampanga also unveiled its Preventive Health Management System patterned after the health system of Cuba, which Duterte admires. The program calls for disease prevention instead of medication, and brings health services to the villages instead of people going to health centers.