Davao City (9 September) -- Around 700 barangays in Davao Region benefited last Sunday from the nationwide medical and dental mission dubbed as "100 Percent in One Day" of the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office (PCSO).

The medical and dental mission in Davao Region was done in more than 30 cluster-sites where residents of nearby barangays availed of the health service project that PCSO had designed in line with its 75th anniversary.

The project conducted in a single day on September 06 was targeted to cover the 41,955 barangays nationwide.

Beneficiaries interviewed during the mission were grateful that free medical assistance was being offered at venues where they could readily avail saying it was a big help for them in the midst of rising cost of medical services.

In an interview with the Nation Broadcasting Network (NBN), Municipal Mayor Marcelino Perandos of Carmen, Davao del Norte conveyed his thanks to President Gloria Arroyo and to the PCSO for bringing down much-needed services of the poor.

In Panabo City, elements of the 69th Infantry Battalion of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) under the 10th Infantry Division participated in the medical mission that was conducted along with a medical mission at the ARF Gym.

Commanding officer Major Eligio Balao of the 69th IB cited the medical mission as a message for people to know that the military much wanted to establish peace and to attend to social concerns.

The one-day health service project of the PCSO also involved feeding and information-gathering regarding patients who would like to seek financial assistance from PCSO.

The project brought on field nationwide some 100,000 volunteer doctors, nurses, pharmacists, health workers, other medical professionals, barangay health workers and other concerned individuals from the government and the private sectors Aside from general checkups, minor surgeries like the removal of cataracts and lumps, dental services, eye examinations, bone scan and ear check monitor were made available in selected medical mission sites located in government hospitals and rural clinics.

Free Medicines distributed to patients at the sites included amoxicillin drops, capsules and suspension; metropolol tablets; mefenamic acid, paracetamol drops and tablets; and ascorbicdrops, tablets and syrups.

"This is a first-of-its- kind project in the Philippines that provides fast access to medical and charity care from PCSO and its partners to poor Filipinos all over the country in one day," explains PCSO General Manager and Vice Chair Rosario Uriarte.