The Davao del Sur State College (DSSC) entered into a partnership with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation – Regional Office XI (PhilHealth XI) through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on April 15, 2025. The signing ceremony took place on the last day of KonSulTa Caravan activities at DSSC under the leadership of PhilHealth XI Regional Vice-President Atty. Harvey L. Carcedo, MBA, and DSSC College President Augie E. Fuentes, Ph.D., with Philhealth XI’s Medical Officer V Marie Allexis F. Campaner-Belen, MD, MBA, served as a witness to this event. The partnership unites these organizations through an MOU to integrate the National Health Insurance Program (NHIP) system from PhilHealth into the healthcare system of DSSC to enhance healthcare delivery for its members.

 

 

The KonSulTa Caravan, which began on April 14 to serve as an essential MOU component by allowing PhilHealth XI officers and personnel to deliver direct service to the DSSC community. The caravan provided DSSC with the services to register students, faculty and staff to PhilHealth XI Primary Care Facility and enabled clinical sessions teaching about the KonSulTa program. The activities demonstrate PhilHealth’s responsibility to provide accessible healthcare under Republic Act No. 7875 as amended by R.A. No. 9241 and 10606 while educating DSSC members about preventive care.

 

 

The strategic collaboration creates an important benchmark between DSSC and PhilHealth XI, which will foster medical assistance for their academic community members. The parallel efforts between both institutions create a path toward better health and knowledge for students, faculty, and staff, thus establishing healthcare priority. The success of this caravan, along with the MOU signing, represents an accessible healthcare vision that could accelerate similar ventures between other educational institutions across the region.