All 82 Philippine Provinces Now Equipped with Patient Transport Vehicles; Maritime Transport Next

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. announced on Friday that all 82 provinces in the country are now equipped with Patient Transport Vehicles (PTVs). These vehicles will enable local government units (LGUs) to transport patients to medical facilities during emergencies. Each PTV is equipped with essential medical equipment, including a stretcher, spine board, wheelchair, blood pressure monitor, first aid kit, and an oxygen system. Safety features such as an early warning device and a fire extinguisher are also included, according to the Presidential Communications Office (PCO). “Today, by giving the PTVs that we have behind us, we have now completed 100% distribution of PTVs to every province, to every city, to every municipality in the Philippines,” Marcos stated during a PTV distribution event in San Fernando, Pampanga. He added, “Finally, we have completed the distribution of these patient transport vehicles to all our LGUs. They now have vehicles available for their patients.” The President, accompanied by First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, led the distribution of 34 additional PTVs to LGUs in Northern and Central Luzon. Of these, 14 units were allocated to Region III, six to the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR), six to Region I, and eight to Region II. For CAR, the six PTVs were distributed to Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Kalinga, and Mountain Province. In Region I, Ilocos Norte and Ilocos Sur each received one unit, while La Union and Pangasinan received two units each. Region II provided two units each for Batanes, Cagayan, Nueva Vizcaya, and Quirino. Marcos explained that the PTVs can be used to transport patients to and from health facilities free of charge. Furthermore, the next phase of the project will involve providing boats to LGUs to ensure faster transportation for residents of island communities. “If you look over there, there is a display of a small vessel. That will be the next phase of our project, since there are many islands in the Philippines. When moving a patient, we had to lift them and carry them into the ship, and so on,” the President noted. He elaborated that with the new design, the patient transport vehicle itself will be carried onto the vessel, eliminating the need for patients to be disembarked from their transport vehicles.