04/06/2026
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๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฉ๐๐๐ข๐ญ๐๐ญ๐๐ฌ ๐๐๐ก๐จ๐จ๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ญ๐ฒ ๐๐๐๐ข๐๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ซ๐ง๐ข๐ง๐ ๐๐ง๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ
LA TRINIDAD, BENGUET โ In a proactive move to safeguard the well-being of the academic community, the Local Government Unit (LGU) of La Trinidad, through its Municipal Health Services Office (MHSO), conducted a specialized capacity-building seminar titled "Capacity Enhancement for Health and Safety Officers in Schools for Healthy Learning Institutions: A Beshie sa Kalusugan Bago Awra Seminar."
Held on May 29, 2026, at the Calajo Foodhouse in Barangay Betag, the event gathered 45 public primary and secondary school teachers and school nurses from across the municipality. The seminar was designed to equip school personnel with the critical skills and knowledge necessary to transform local campuses into safer, healthier spaces for both learners and educators.
The seminar commenced with an overview of the rationale delivered by ๐๐ด. ๐๐ฉ๐ฆ๐ณ๐ณ-๐ข๐ฏ ๐. ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ณ๐บ, ๐๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ค๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฆ๐ท๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฐ๐ฑ๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ฎ (๐๐๐๐) ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ. Outlining the municipality's focused youth initiatives, Ms. Karry stressed the necessity of a collaborative approach to public health.
She urged both adults and youth to undergo Basic Life Support (BLS) training to foster proactive, protective behaviors. Highlighting the AHDPโs three pillarsโHealth Promotion and Health Education, Medical Services, and Life Skills Buildingโshe presented sobering local statistics to anchor the discussion. Locally, respiratory tract infections stand as the leading cause of adolescent illness (morbidity), followed by dento-oral health problems that directly hinder academic performance. Alarmingly, injuries rank as the leading cause of adolescent mortality (death) in the municipality, followed by pneumonia and brain tumors.
Representing Municipal Mayor Roderick C. Awingan, ๐๐ต๐ต๐บ. ๐๐ฆ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ข๐ณ ๐. ๐๐ข๐ณ๐ช๐ฏฬ๐ฐ delivered an inspirational message reaffirming the local government's staunch backing of health programs within educational institutions. He called for a strong partnership between the LGU and schools to keep the town safe and thriving.
"We learn new skills and make it part of our culture," Atty. Cariรฑo remarked, challenging participants to integrate these life-saving practices into their daily school routines.
๐๐ณ. ๐๐ณ๐ญ๐บ๐ฏ ๐. ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฐ, ๐๐ข๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ๐ฏ๐ข๐ญ, ๐๐ฆ๐ธ๐ฃ๐ฐ๐ณ๐ฏ, ๐๐ฉ๐ช๐ญ๐ฅ, ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ฅ๐ฐ๐ญ๐ฆ๐ด๐ค๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ต๐ฉ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ฅ ๐๐ถ๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ (๐๐๐๐๐) ๐๐ญ๐ถ๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ, led the next sessions focusing on workplace safety. In her lecture, "Addressing Personal Hygiene as a Workplace Safety Issue," she tackled both occupational and personal hygiene, providing practical etiquette guidelines aimed at fostering physical safety, psychological comfort, mutual respect, and accountability in the workplace.
Dr. Namoro also spearheaded the discussion on "Injury Prevention, Safety, and First Aid." During this interactive block, she debunked common medical mythsโsuch as the hazardous practice of tilting the head backward during a nosebleedโand trained participants in proper emergency responses for common medical encounters experienced on school grounds.
๐๐ด. ๐๐ข๐ข๐ณ๐ฏ๐ช ๐. ๐๐ข๐จ๐ข๐ด, ๐๐ถ๐ต๐ณ๐ช๐ต๐ช๐ฐ๐ฏ ๐๐ง๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ ๐, shared the Health Office's overarching vision of "A nutritionally improved and healthy La Trinidad." She showcased the LGUโs commitment through its localized flagship program, NOURISH NOW, alongside the adoption of national mandates such as Republic Act 11037 (National Feeding Program) and Republic Act 10028 (Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act).
Ms. Dagas revealed a critical finding from recent school monitoring visits, noting that many school canteens still market unhealthy food products to students. She strongly urged the educators to intervene and actively transition their facilities into "nutrition-abled" schools.
Shifting to substance abuse, Ms. Dagas delivered a piercing presentation titled "VAPEDEMIC: Impact on the Youth." Utilizing factual and survey-driven data, she illustrated the rising trajectory of e-cigarette and v**e usage among local youth. She exposed the aggressive marketing tactics of to***co firms that deliberately target young demographics and warned of the toxic chemical components found in these devices, calling on school authorities to help combat this growing epidemic.
Addressing psychological well-being, ๐๐ด. ๐๐ด๐ต๐ฆ๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ฆ ๐. ๐๐ต๐ด๐ช๐จ, ๐๐ฆ๐ฏ๐ต๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ณ๐ฐ๐จ๐ณ๐ข๐ฎ ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐จ๐ฆ๐ณ, presented alarming statistics regarding local su***de mortality rates. She discussed the multi-faceted risk factors contributing to suicidal behavior and taught participants how to recognize early warning signs. To equip the frontliners, Ms. Utsig shared practical intervention techniques, underscoring the vital steps of recognition, utilizing mental health toolkits, multi-agency coordination, and immediate referral to experts.
To address the physical campus environment, ๐๐ด. ๐๐บ๐ณ๐ข ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ช๐ญ๐ญ๐ฆ ๐๐ข๐ฎ๐ด๐ช๐ด, ๐๐ข๐ฏ๐ช๐ต๐ข๐ณ๐บ ๐๐ฏ๐ด๐ฑ๐ฆ๐ค๐ต๐ฐ๐ณ ๐, detailed the operational criteria for the Search for Clean and Green Environment Schools. This ongoing strategy serves to incentivize schools to maintain ecological balance, cleanliness, and overall environmental safety.
In her closing remarks, ๐๐ถ๐ฏ๐ช๐ค๐ช๐ฑ๐ข๐ญ ๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ญ๐ต๐ฉ ๐๐ง๐ง๐ช๐ค๐ฆ๐ณ ๐๐ณ. ๐๐ฏ๐ต๐ฐ๐ฏ๐ฆ๐ต๐ต๐ฆ ๐. ๐๐จ๐ฑ๐ข๐ด, ๐๐, ๐๐๐, expressed deep appreciation for the participantsโ dedication throughout the intensive training. She noted that the seminar marks a significant milestone in the LGUโs mission to care for the education sector's workforce and youth, voicing optimism that formal health agreements between the schools and the LGU will be forged in the near future.
Dr. Agpas closed by reminding the attendees to maximize their PhilHealth benefits, specifically highlighting the accessible pathways offered under the YAKAP and GAMOT programs, ensuring that healthcare remains within reach for all public servants and their families.
๐ธ: ๐บ๐จ. ๐ญ๐๐๐๐๐
Mayor's Office - La Trinidad
La Trinidad Public Information Office
Benguet Provincial Health Office
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