The Pasig City local government on Tuesday, Feb. 13, turned over a number of Patient Transport Vehicles (PTVs) to 27 of its barangays as part of the city's efforts in expanding the capabilities of its barangays in transporting their residents who are in need of non-emergent medical attention to hospitals and other health facilities.

(Photos from Pasig LGU)

The turnover ceremonies were held in three locations in Pasig City after clustering its barangays into three sectors: The first cluster turnover ceremony was conducted in East Bank, Brgy. Manggahan (Pinagbuhatan, San Miguel, Sta. Cruz, Sto. Tomas, Manggahan, Maybunga, Santolan, Sta. Lucia); followed by the turnover ceremony in Emerald Ave., Brgy. San Antonio (Pineda, San Antonio, Ugong, Kapitolyo, Oranbo, Palatiw, and Bagong Ilog); and the last turnover in Caruncho Ave., Brgy. San Nicolas (Caniogan, Kapasigan, Sagad, San Nicolas, San Jose, Bambang, Buting, Kalawaan, Malinao, San Joaquin, Sta. Rosa, and Sumilang).

"The distribution of PTVs to barangays aims to increase the capacity of the barangays in terms of catering to the needs of their residents. Through the PTVs, the recipient barangays can now transport or conduct resident patients with non-emergent cases to health facilities, such as hospitals (for outpatient needs) or barangay health centers, without having to compete with the demand for ambulances, which now can focus on servicing for emergency cases," the local government unit (LGU) said.

According to City Health Officer Dr. Joseph Panaligan, the PTVs stemmed from the city's experience 
during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic where patients, both non-Covid and those with mild-Covid, had a hard time being transported to health facilities due to the high demand for city and barangay ambulances for patient transportation.

With each unit costing just P2.4 million, the PTVs, which are highly customized Toyota Hiace Commuter Vans, were meticulously researched upon by the city's Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO) and the City Health Department (CHD) to ensure that the vehicles are extremely capable in responding to patients even in tight roads and spaces and contain all the necessary equipment for medical response which include:

1. A stretcher
2. Oxygen tank
3. Oxygen concentrator
4. Inverter for 220 watts
5. Fire extinguisher
6. 200 watts heavy duty siren 
7. Low frequency siren 
8. Front, back, and side blinkers
9. Preventive Maintenance Service (PMS) including oil change until 20,000 kilometers

“Talagang madetalye, tinitingnan nila (DRRMO and CHD) ang lahat, at pinag-aaralang mabuti kung ano ang kailangan. Ano ba dapat ang nasa TOR (terms of reference). Ano yung feedback mula noon, gaya nung sa maintenance ng sasakyan, yung PMS natin. At yung mga bagay katulad ng oxygen concentrator (The DRRMO and CHD were meticulous in checking and studying the things the PTVs should contain and should be capable of. What should be included in the TOR. What are the feedbacks on the maintenance of the vehicle and its PMS. And the equipment needed such as the oxygen concentrator)," Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto said.

"Yung mga learning mula sa pandemic at huling mga taon, inincorporate natin yan. Hindi basta-basta na maisip lang. Hindi nag-iimbento, talagang pinag-aaralan. Hanggang yung sa Singapore nga ay pinag-aralan natin (referring to the howler low-frequency tone siren). Wala pang LGU sa Pilipinas o kahit BFP na gumagamit ng ganung technology sa firetrucks at PTVs, Pasig LGU ang una,” Mayor Sotto explained (All the learnings during the pandemic and in the previous years were incorporated. We didn't just think about it on a whim. Even the howler low-frequency tone siren being used in Singapore was also studied by the city government. No LGU in the Philippines, even the Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP), is using this technology in their firetrucks and PTVs. Pasig is the very first one)," he added.

Vice Mayor Dodot Jaworski reminded the recipient barangays to take care good care of the donated PTVs, most especially since these were purchased through the taxpayers’ hard-earned money.

He likewise assured the barangays that both the executive and legislative branches of the Pasig city government are open should the barangays have programs in mind that require support and funding.

“Ang mga barangay ang frontliners sa public service, kung mayroon pa kayong naiisip na magagandang programa na pwede po nating paglaanan ng pondo para mas mapaganda pa ang serbisyo natin dito sa ating lungsod, bukas po ang aming tanggapan para sa mga ito,” Vice Mayor Jaworski said (The barangays are the frontliners in public service. If you have ideas or programs that we may allocate funds for the benefit of our residents and improve our quality of public service in the city, our office is open)," Jaworski said.

Other officials present during the turnover ceremonies were DRRMO Chief Bryant Wong and Pasig City Rep. Roman Romulo.

Fire trucks

In September last year, Pasig City procured 28 new high-quality fire trucks which were turned over to the city’s barangays to boost their emergency response capacities.

DRRMO Chief Wong said the fire trucks feature advanced specifications that the DRRMO sought out after conducting benchmarking activities in Tarlac and Singapore.

The new trucks have a total of 12 hoses, have power take-off (PTO)-driven pumps with additional portable pumps. The trucks also have widened spaces to fit the crew inside and prevent incidents of firefighters falling out of the trucks. It also has added seats fitted with breathing apparatus that make the responders ready to engage.

To avoid traffic accidents, the trucks’ lights were also made brighter with good blinkers and loud sirens. They have built-in sirens and motor sirens as well as ramblers or howlers that produce low frequency sound waves or vibrations.

There are now windows inside the trucks for better ventilation, ladders, other tools, and new Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) except for helmets, boots, and gloves.