The 4th Infantry Division has utilized its air assets and dropped 15,000 informational leaflets to expand awareness on COVID-19 to far-flung communities in Caraga.
Lt. Col. Xerxes Trinidad, the 4th Infantry Division Public Affairs Office chief, said the infantry brigades operating in Caraga Region facilitated the leaflet airdrop on the remote areas.
Trinidad said this would keep the communities well-informed of the current health situation and how to prevent the spread of the pandemic.
The leaflets contained COVID-19 health protocols and guidelines issued by the DOH XIII in the provinces of Agusan del Norte, Agusan del Sur, and Surigao del Norte.
The initiative was made possible through close coordination with the Tactical Operations Group X of the Philippine Air Force, which provided one UH-1H and two MD-520MG helicopters.
It can be recalled that 4ID has recently conducted massive information dissemination and community awareness campaigns on the pandemic, which included social media postings, leaflet distributions, and loudspeaker operations in both urban and rural areas.
As of today, there were a total of 642 loudspeaker operations and a total of 45,000 leaflets distributed/airdropped by the different line units of the 4th ID within its area of responsibility.
Maj. Gen. Franco Nemesio Gacal, commander of the 4th ID, said, “Every Filipino must be informed about our common enemy in this health crisis, the COVID-19. Everyone must be on board in our battle against this deadly virus,” Gacal said.
“As part of our mandate of protecting the people, we just want to make sure that every Filipino is equipped with the right information on how to protect themselves from the deadly, invisible, and invincible enemy that the world is facing today,” he added.
Similar initiatives will be conducted in Northern Mindanao in the coming days.
