In Systems and in Health Stephanie S. Cabigao
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“Health is a very difficult agenda. In local politics today, no one will believe you when you define health as a campaign issue by giving out ‘free’ PhilHealth. That era is over. There are a lot of health issues that can be solved without doctors and just by governance,” says Del Carmen’s man of action, Mayor Alfredo M. Coro II. What drove this UP Los Baños computer science alumnus, with a graduate degree in technology management from UP Diliman and years of ThinkPad technologies experience, to turn the sleepy town of Del Carmen on the island of Siargao in Surigao Del Norte into a dynamic municipality that leads the country in health management?
J U L Y S E P T E M B E R
For Coro, being a native of Del Carmen and at the same time an Isko immersed in public service was always a reason to come back. It was in 2009 when he was called to run for public office. It was an opportunity for him to apply his IT systems background to good governance, especially to something as abstract as health.
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Health as a framework for governance Del Carmen consists of four island barangays, nine coastal barangays, an upland barangay, and six inland barangays. It is the largest town on Siargao Island, with a population of about 20,000, mostly farmers, fisherfolk, senior citizens, government employees, and students. “We have the airport, the sea port and the state college. I have a city problem in a 5th class community,” Mayor Coro points out. He looks at the town’s pressing issues as a matter of health. “By focusing on health, we are also able to address other issues in food security, environment, poverty, social and economic activities,” Coro says. “At first, we had no data. There was nothing until we started documenting things from one barangay to another,” he recounts. “The concept is for you to understand the complexity of health systems and develop a complex solution to the complex problem. And then, I heard about a health governance program conducted by Zuellig. I persevered and insisted that our town be included in its two-year program in bridging leadership,” he continues. 22
The UP Forum
A part of Del Carmen’s sea port with a view of its lush mangrove forest. Photo by Bong Arboleda, UP MPRO.
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