Ilocos Norte’s ‘Capitol Express’ returns

CapEx at Payao, Batac City (Alaric Yanos photo)

By Leilanie G. Adriano

Staff reporter

Laoag City—Two months after it was temporarily halted due to numerous activities in the province, team Capitol Express (Capex) is back as they resume the delivery of government services to the remotest barangays in the province even on weekends.

Set on July 24, Edwin Cariño, Millennium Development Goals program project manager of the Ilocos Norte government said team Capex will be visiting the Batac National High School at its Payao Campus to serve barangay residents there as well as those from its neighboring barangays such as Maipalig, Quiom, Mabaleng and Sumader.

After saturating all the barangays of Batac, Capex will move to Dingras on July 25 where they will set up service kiosks at the barangay hall of Saludares while inviting other clustered Barangays of Sulquiano, Root, Cali, Parado and Medina.

For the month of August, the Capex team will be going to the clustered barangays covering Dingras, Currimao, Paoay, Burgos, Pinili, Sarrat, Pasuquin, Bangui, Vintar, Bacarra and Pagudpud.

For more than a year now, Ilocos Norte Governor Ma. Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos’ Capitol Express has served thousands of clients, who avail of government programs and services ranging from medical assistance, livelihood and employment generation among others.

Instead of personally going to the Capitol to personally request for assistance or avail of any government service, Capex, composed of a team of government workers from various departments of the Ilocos Norte government reach out to the grassroots and let them know of the on-going programs and services they may want to take advantage of.

At the venue, mostly staged in makeshift tents near thickly-populated schools, public markets, municipal or barangay halls, government workers with specific program tags, let the people fall in line for the services they may want to avail.

CapEx at Saludares, Dingras (Alaric Yanos photo)

Among these express services include at least three pet programs of the provincial government. These are jobs and livelihood assistance, ‘tulong’ which caters to scholarship grants, health services, death and burial assistance, barangay requests, legal consultation, social counseling, services for senior citizens and persons with disabilities and documentary assistance for land titling, application or correction of birth, marriage and death registry including housing application programs.

With the successful launching of the Capex pilot caravan on July 25, 2013, the Ilocos Norte government is continuing its effort to bring government services closer to the people by reaching out to local communities living in remotest barangays on weekdays and market days including Saturday and Sunday.

The governor said Capitol Express will now be a regular activity, deploying front line service providers at the Capitol to the 21 municipalities and two cities here to ensure that no Ilocano is left behind in availing services offered by the government.