Healthiest barangay in Mountain Province

Barangay Chair Mary Del-isen (4th from right) and her group from Banguitan pose with Besao Mayor Johnson Bantog II (3rd from left) and staff from the Provincial Health Office after the awarding ceremony.

Barangay Banguitan is the healthiest barangay of Mountain Province in 2016. This was the result of the 2016 Search for Healthy Places-Barangay Category which was conducted by the Provincial Government of Mountain Province through the Provincial Coalition on Healthy Lifestyle. 

Judging was based on a set of criteria that looked into the health status of the people, healthy lifestyle, environmental protection especially no burning, cleanliness of surroundings, monitoring mechanisms, budgetary support for health and best practices. Barangay Banguitan bested the eight other entries in the province. Sagada municipality did not submit an entry.
Barangay Banguitan is one of the 14 barangays of Besao municipality. It is a clustered village in the Mt. Piling mountain range, with a total population of 732. 

It is a multi-awarded barangay having won, among other things, the Barangay with the Best Sanitation Practices in 2015 in the Cordillera Administrative Region and Best Community Health Team in Mountain Province in 2012. 

Its past barangay chair, now Municipal Councilor Jerry Caysoen was chosen as the Most Supportive Barangay Chairperson (for Health) in 2012. Honorable Mary Del-isen is the current barangay chairperson and Mrs. Dorothy Sildon is the barangay midwife.
The Search for Healthy Places is an annual activity of Mountain Province to advocate for health and wellness among the populace. It has 3 categories – barangay, elementary school and high school. 

For 2016, San Rafael Elementary School in Paracelis won as the Healthiest Elementary School and Mt. Data National High School in Bauko is the Healthiest High School. Each provincial winner is given a plaque of recognition and a cash prize of P50,000. Municipal winners are given P5,000 each. (Zigzag Weekly)