Korean docs help Army win hearts of Misamis tribal folk

DAVAO CITY — A team of 35 doctors and interns from the Chung Ang University of Korea helped the Army’s 4th Infantry Division in its all-out war against insurgency by winning the hearts of the poor in the hinterlands of Misamis Oriental.

Last July 1-5, the Korean doctors provided free medical services to tribal folk in Talisayan town in coordination with the 4th ID and the Boy Scouts of the Philippines (BSP).

"In fighting the insurgency, we do not only do it through a military solution. We also reach out to the people by providing them with free basic services," said Maj. Gen. Cardoso Luna, 4th ID chief.

Aside from free medical services and medicines, the 4th ID also conducted fogging of potential mosquito-breeding sites to prevent the spread of dengue and malaria in Talisayan.

The five-day medical mission served more than 2,000 villagers in the hinterland barangays of Sibantang, Mahayag, Magkarila, Sindangan, Bugdang, Mintabon, Kasibuli, Macopa, San Jose, Calamkam, Tagbokbok, Puting Balas, Pangpangon, Sta. Ines, Mandahilag Pook, Punta Santiago, and Poblacion.

The medical mission is said to have been the first in Talisayan.

Talisayan Mayor Rommel Maslog, chairman of the Scout Council in Misamis Oriental, cited Luna for linking up with Jose Rizal Pangilinan, BSP secretary-general, to bring basic health services in coordination with the Korean medical mission from Chung-Ang University.

Prior to the mission, the 4th ID personnel also provided indigenous folk with medical services in Malaybalay City and in the Bukidnon town of Impasug-ong. — Edith Regalado