By Che Palicte/Philippine News Agency

DAVAO CITY–Residents of Santo Tomas, Davao del Norte can now easily avail of the basic social and even legal services with the establishment of a public center called “Dangpanan ni Tomas”.
In a statement released Tuesday, the town’s Municipal Information Office (MIO) said Dangpanan is designed to be a “working office” of Mayor Ernesto Evangelista where the public can seek help about their various needs and concerns.
Located inside the municipal compound, Dangpanan has served 383 clients from different barangays, MIO said.
Among the services provided were burial assistance, financial assistance, medical assistance, rice subsidy, free legal consultation, sports equipment, and hospital referral to the Davao Regional Hospital in Tagum City.
“The idea really is to bring the LGU’s social services and programs closer to the people. Under my term, I want every Tomasian to avail these services since our local government unit them their needs especially those coming from geographically-isolated areas,” Evangelista said.
Carlo Jack Pino, executive assistant II, and in-charge of the Dangpanan program, said that the center’s establishment seeks to ensure that “government services are more accessible to the people.”
“The program is expected to enhance the delivery of basic services guaranteeing higher number of beneficiaries from different barangays,” Pino said.
Sto. Tomas town is a first-class municipality with a population of almost 12,000. It has 19 barangays with Barangay Tibal-og as the most densely populated.
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