Health caravan reaches 1,600 students and families in Patikul, Sulu

The Department of Education’s Yaman ng Kalusugan Program para Malayo sa Sakit (YAKAP) health caravan visited Kawmpang Elementary School in Patikul, Sulu, delivering primary-care checkups, dental treatment, vision and mental-health screenings, and facilitating PhilHealth enrollment for an estimated 1,600 beneficiaries, including students, teachers and parents from Kawmpang and Martirez elementary schools. President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. and DepEd Secretary Sonny Angara attended, framing the outreach as implementation of the president’s directive for direct services while supporting education in the province.

Angara noted that the Sulu Schools Division Office’s formal inclusion in DepEd Region IX aligns with the integration plan following the Supreme Court’s decision that Sulu is not part of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region. Earlier, Marcos inaugurated the Sulu Hall of Justice and pledged to absorb local teachers into the new administrative structure under the Zamboanga Peninsula. The caravan underscores the government’s push to strengthen health and education services amid the region’s administrative transition.