The air ambulances for the Mimaropa region has resumed its regular flights and is serving emergency patients in remote and far-flung areas in Palawan anew, the Department of Health said Friday.
DoH–Mimaropa Regional Director Eduardo C. Janairo said the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines has already issued the airplane an Airworthiness Certification, meaning it is now “in a condition allowing for safe operation.”
Janairo said all the needed parts were replaced and the air ambulance was duly inspected and certified 100 percent fit to fly.
“We now have a new Globe hotline (0917-5531651) for the air ambulance, which will be open 24/7 to accommodate texts and calls of patients needing emergency assistance. The Smart hotline (0998-5492585) will remain in effect,” he added.
Under Republic Act 9497, the CAAP has the authority to regulate air transportation in the country to ensure the safety, quality and reliability of air transport services for the riding public.
According to Janairo, the DoH-Mimaropa air ambulance averages two to three flights a day.
A total of 99 patients have been transported by the two air ambulances from February 9 to July 31 this year, the agency said.
Among the regular patients transported were from the islands of Cuyo, Magsaysay, Balabac, and Brooke’s Point in Palawan. Even emergency patients from nearby Zamboanga and Tawi-Tawi are being transported and brought to the nearest health facility in Palawan, the DOH director said.
“We are also expecting a plane donation, one Cessna 182Q aircraft, from a non-government international organization based in the United States that may also be used in transporting emergency patients in Mimaropa,” Janairo disclosed.
“And if there are good Samaritans out there who could lend us a sea plane that can be used to transport patients in island barangays where there is no possible airstrip or airfield to land, we will be very pleased to accommodate,” he added.
The air ambulance was made possible through an agreement signed on February 8, 2017 by DOH-Mimaropa and the Philippine Adventist Medical Aviation Services, Inc. with headquarters located in Brooke’s Point, Palawan.