Navotas Polytechnic College

Serbisyo Muna brings kababayans closer to relatives abroad

“Kung wala itong Serbisyo Muna, matatagalan pa bago ako makahingi ng tulong sa kamag-anak ko abroad,” shared Navotas resident Marita Duran.

Duran, a widowed mother of four, had been planning for days to call her sister-in-law in the United States to seek educational help for her children. But due to financial constraints, she was not able to until the Serbisyo Muna Caravan brought the Libreng Tawag sa OFW service of the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC) to their locality. She, together with hundreds of Navotas residents benefited from the caravan held at the Navotas Polytechnic College, last week.

The NTC is just one of the participants during the one-day Caravan, a major component of the Serbisyo Muna Project of President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo. The Serbisyo Muna is an umbrella agency which brings together the various socio-civic programs and services of the key line agencies, the local government as well as the private sector and the non-government units.

“President Arroyo’s Serbisyo Muna aims to help our countrymen in the best way we can. And with each caravan we strive harder to help more and more Filipinos,” said Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation (PAGCOR) Chairman and CEO Efraim C. Genuino, the over-all manager of the Serbisyo Muna project.

Through its Libreng Tawag sa OFC service, the NTC provides free three-minute call overseas and five-minute call nationwide to our countrymen. The agency works hand-in-hand with the biggest telephone companies Smart and Globe to give such service to Filipinos.

“Lubos po akong nagpapasalamat sa proyektong ito ng Pangulong Arroyo. Malaking tulong ito sa aming walang pantawag sa mga kamag-anak sa ibang bansa,” said Duran.

Aside from the Libreng Tawag, the major services offered during the Serbisyo Muna Caravan were free medical, dental and optical services from PAGCOR, the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office and the Department of Health; the Department of Foreign Affair’s mobile passport service; mobile-x-ray; distribution of Philhealth cards; awarding of license to operate Botika ng Barangay outlets of the DOH and the Office of Political Coalition Affairs; National Bureau of Investigation-on-wheels

There were also presentations of livelihood programs and demonstration of skills and services by the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority and the Training and Livelihood Resource Center; presentation of Micro-Finance Institutions and lectures on micro-lending by the People’s Credit and Finance Corporation (PCFC); the Department of Energy’s seminar on energy safety and efficiency measures and the Department of Transportation and Communications’ road ethics seminar; distribution of assorted vegetable seeds by the Department of Agriculture; deployment of National Food Authority rolling stores; and beautification and road clearing campaign of the Department of Public Works and Highways in cooperation with Meralco.

Other participating agencies were: the Philippine National Police (PNP); Presidential Commission on Urban Poor (PCUP); National Anti-Poverty Commission; Task Force Urban Manila (TFUM); the Manila Water Company Inc. (MCWI) and the local government unit of Navotas.