VG Odiem appeals for continued support from Senator Ejercito to bring quality health care closer to Kalinga communities

TABUK CITY, Kalinga — Vice Governor Dave Q. Odiem has appealed to Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito to continue supporting Kalinga’s health care development, citing the senator’s role in advancing Universal Health Care (UHC) and his longstanding contributions to public health.

Odiem expressed the province’s gratitude during the Mangili Night honoring Ejercito, hosted by the Provincial Government of Kalinga under Governor James S. Edduba at M Hotel in Appas, Tabuk City, on October 27, 2026.

The tribute recognized Ejercito’s contributions to public health, particularly his role as principal sponsor of the Universal Health Care Act, which seeks to make health services more accessible to Filipinos.

“Kalinga has not forgotten your long record as champion of public health, most specially your leadership as principal sponsor of Universal Heath Care law. For province like ours, that law is a promise, a promise that a child from the farthest sitio deserves the same care as anyone in the province of kalinga,” Odiem said.

Odiem said the provincial government is working to fulfill that promise and hopes to sustain its partnership with Ejercito to improve health care services, especially for residents in far-flung communities.

He also recalled Ejercito’s visit to the Kalinga Provincial Hospital (KPH) in April 2023, when the senator met with doctors, nurses and hospital personnel and renewed his commitment to supporting the facility’s development.

The vice governor further acknowledged the assistance extended by Ejercito’s office to the province over the years, saying these initiatives had reached families in communities across Kalinga.

“...through the years, your office has extended assistance and supported project for the people of Kalinga. Those projects reach real families in our barangays and they tell us, you have never treated Kalinga as a place far from manila but as home. For everyone, of them, the people of Kalinga say thank you,” he conveyed.

Odiem appealed for Ejercito’s continued assistance for the province’s development projects, assuring the senator that any support extended would be used faithfully and accountably for its intended beneficiaries.

He emphasized that sustained collaboration between national and local leaders remains important in improving health services and ensuring that residents, regardless of where they live, can access the care they need.