The Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) intensified its efforts to bridge healthcare gaps for coconut farmers as it convened social workers through a nationwide capacity-building program, held from October 22 to 25 at the PCA Central Office-Agro Hub Building.

In his opening message, PCA Administrator Dr. Dexter R. Buted challenged participants to fully embrace their role, underscoring the profound impact they could have on the lives of farmers, saying, “𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑖𝑓, 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑙𝑒𝑑𝑔𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛 ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑙𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑓𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑒𝑎𝑡ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑐𝑜𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑢𝑡 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠?” 𝐵𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑠𝑘𝑒𝑑. “𝑂𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑠, 𝑤ℎ𝑜 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑠𝑜 𝑙𝑜𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑎𝑣𝑒 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑒𝑑 ℎ𝑎𝑟𝑑𝑠ℎ𝑖𝑝 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑠𝑠 𝑡𝑜 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑙𝑡ℎ𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒, 𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑟𝑣𝑒 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑖𝑔𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦. 𝑇𝑜𝑑𝑎𝑦, 𝑦𝑜𝑢 ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑡𝑜 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑛𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑚 𝑡𝑜 𝑙𝑖𝑓𝑒-𝑠𝑎𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑎𝑟𝑒.”

The training, devised with a nine-session module, offers a comprehensive overview of the coconut industry, covering key healthcare and medical assistance principles essential for supporting farming communities. On the first day, PCA Department Manager II Rosella B. Villaruel introduced the coconut industry’s landscape, followed by PEO III John Paul Abaincia’s orientation on the Coconut Farmers and Industry Development Plan (CFIDP). Acting Division Chief for Health and Medical Division, King Arrvi B. Gaspar, presented an in-depth overview of the PCA Health and Medical Program, detailing its aims to bring healthcare to farmers who frequently lack access to basic medical services.

The second day’s sessions expanded on medical protocols. Dr. April R. Capco from DOH provided an overview of hospital care, followed by DOH Information Analyst Edith Facturan’s presentation on the Integrated Hospital Operations and Management Information System (iHOMIS), a digital platform for tracking patient records and enhancing service delivery. PDO III Dianne Joy D. Felipe guided participants in the process for facilitating medical assistance for coconut farmers.

On day three, social workers underwent hands-on training in First Aid and Basic Life Support under the guidance of Rodino Senen T. Cruz, a seasoned emergency medical technician from the Philippine Red Cross. This session prepared them to respond effectively in rural settings, where emergency healthcare is often scarce.

The concluding sessions addressed essential aspects of social work in healthcare. Registered social worker Dennis Destacamento led sessions on assessing financial needs, monitoring post-assistance support, and building community networks. These topics highlighted the role of social workers in sustaining long-term healthcare initiatives, fostering collaborative ties with local organizations, and ensuring farmers and their families receive continued support.

Central to the training is the newly developed Health and Medical Program Training Manual, a comprehensive resource designed to standardize healthcare support under the CFIDP. The manual includes protocols for identifying eligible beneficiaries, coordinating with healthcare providers, and monitoring assistance outcomes. The PCA chief emphasized the manual’s importance, calling it “𝑎 𝑏𝑙𝑢𝑒𝑝𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛, 𝑒𝑚𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑠𝑜𝑐𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑤𝑜𝑟𝑘𝑒𝑟𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑓𝑢𝑙 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑜𝑢𝑟 𝑓𝑎𝑟𝑚𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑒𝑠.”

The training marks a significant step in delivering healthcare services to vulnerable agricultural communities by empowering social workers and providing them with essential knowledge and skills to enhance healthcare access and medical programs for coconut farmers and their families. It further reaffirms the PCA's dedication to ensuring that no coconut farmer is left behind in the pursuit of health, hope, and dignity.