By Dhel Nazario  Taguig City vendors, farmers, and fisherfolk will now be covered by Philhealth. Taguig will take care of the beneficiaries’ PhilHealth membership for a year, covering the full amount of their premium. Ro Daso, president of the Community Vendors and Entrepreneurs sa PAG-ASA, was all thanks, saying vendors would often choose not to go to the hospital when they don’t feel well, afraid of the financial cost. During the event dubbed Bida sa Kalusugan: A Special Medical Mission for Vendors, Farmers and Fisherfolk, more than 1,600 attendees filled out their own Member Registration Forms at the PhilHealth booth and were given a PhilHealth number. PhilHealth IDs of the beneficiaries will be delivered to them after processing. As PhilHealth members, the workers would be entitled to free in-patient services, subsidies (for room and board, drugs and medicines, laboratories, operating room and professional fees for confinements not less than 24 hours) and Outpatient Benefit Packages in PhilHealth-accredited facilities. Aside from the PhiHealth registration, the mission also brought in a medical team composed of barangay health workers, nurses, doctors and dentists. The attendees got free medical and dental services, plus laboratory tests and chest X-ray. Health workers also administered pneumonia vaccinations, which would guard residents against the pneumococcus, a leading cause of serious illnesses. In Taguig, more than 33,000 residents have been registered with PhilHealth through LGU sponsorship, the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) and the Department of Education. "The health of every family member is a very important aspect in our community so we continue to find innovative, inclusive ways to provide medical assistance to Taguigeños," Mayor Lani Cayetano said.