SAN FERNANDO, Bukidnon (February 10, 2026) — Despite rugged terrain and steep mountain paths, social workers from the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) Field Office 10 delivered government services to the Tigwahanon tribe in Sitio Salumayag, Barangay Halapitan

The team traveled a 32-kilometer stretch of rocky roads across the Pantaron Mountain Range, also known as the Central Cordillera of Mindanao, to reach the remote community.  

The Pantaron Mountain Range spans several provinces, including Misamis Oriental, Bukidnon, Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Davao del Norte, and Davao del Sur, and contains one of Mindanao’s remaining old-growth forest areas.  

DSWD-10, through the Pantawid Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) Municipal Action Team of San Fernando, the 4Ps Regional Program Management Office, the Social Marketing Unit, and the 4Ps Bukidnon Provincial Operations Office, conducted a two-day service caravan to ensure that families living in geographically isolated areas could access essential government services.  

More than 300 Tigwahanon families benefited from the activity, which included free birth registration, health services, and household data updating.   The caravan forms part of the local government’s continuing effort to increase civil registration among Indigenous Peoples (IPs), addressing low birth registration rates in Bukidnon, which has one of the largest IP populations in Northern Mindanao.  

“Now my child has the papers needed for school,” said 4Ps beneficiary Raul Bangonan after registering his one-year-old child.

 During the activity, DSWD 4Ps staff updated household records and enrolled eligible infants under the First 1,000 Days (F1KD) program, which focuses on maternal and child health.  

Partner agencies, including IDEALS (Initiative for Dialogue and Empowerment through Alternative Legal Services), the Local Civil Registrar, and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), set up a temporary registration area and processed 96 free birth registrations and National ID applications.  

Health personnel from the Department of Health (DOH), PhilHealth, and the Municipal Health Office provided vaccinations and distributed essential vitamins through a mobile clinic.  

Troopers from the 89th Infantry Battalion supported the activity by providing security and assisting in child nutrition monitoring and community mobilization.   The initiative highlights the importance of inter-agency convergence in bringing basic services closer to Indigenous Peoples, particularly those living in remote and hard-to-reach areas.  

The San Fernando caravan follows similar service delivery activities conducted in Kitaotao and Quezon, Bukidnon, reinforcing the government’s commitment to inclusive and accessible public service. (DSWD-10/PIA-10/Bukidnon)