GMA, Caloocan mayor lead service caravan

President Arroyo, accompanied by Caloocan City Mayor Enrico Echiverri, paid a short visit to thousands of residents in the depressed area of Kararinlan Village in Caloocan City yesterday with her Serbisyo Muna caravan at the forefront.

The President, staying for no more than 30 minutes at the Kasarinlan Elementary School premises, said the free services and programs were part of her early Christmas gift-giving and an anticipatory celebration of Echiverri’s 51st birthday on Nov. 18.

The President and the Caloocan mayor distributed several books to children and the first batch of 27,000 Philhealth cards to indigent residents of the city.

Mrs. Arroyo’s visit coincided with free medical and dental services, supplemental feeding, a mini-job fair, free haircut, reflexology, foot spa, table setting and bartending demonstrations courtesy of the Technical Education and Skills Development Autohrity (TESDA) of Caloocan City.

Other activities highlighting the presidential visit included free legal assistance and free registration of the newly-born under Operation Birthright of the Office of Civil Registry headed by Luchi Flores.

Livelihood seminars were also held in meat processing, card making, candle making, Christmas decor making, repair of light consumer appliances and demo repair of electronic power processing. Also deployed at the site were some 50 NFA rolling stores. A number of grafted mangoes were distributed for urban gardening.

Echiverri, meanwhile, rallied the people to take advantage of the benefits being unloaded by the President’s outreach program.

The mayor had earlier allotted funds for the acquisition of some 16,000 books and instructional materials for distribution to the city’s different elementary and high school students.

The construction and improvement of various school buildings in the city are in progress even as more are being planned, the mayor said.