Free first-aid training for tourism workers urged

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MANILA, Philippines — Quezon Representative-elect Reynante Arrogancia on Sunday sought free tour guide and first-aid training for tourism workers, including passenger jeepney and tricycle drivers, in tourist hubs nationwide.

Arrogancia called on the Department of Tourism and the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority to replicate a program they initiated in Baler, Aurora, nationwide, especially in tourist areas.

“Tour guide training should be open to tricycle drivers, jeepney drivers, UV Express drivers, market vendors, and [village watchers] because these are the local people in the neighborhood with whom tourists have direct contact upon arrival at their destinations,” Arrogancia said.

He said that tour guides, hotel personnel, and resort staff in tourism destinations should also know how to provide first aid.

“The only thing they know is to transport patients to the nearest hospital, which can be many minutes or hours away. The patient usually dies on-site or while being transported because first aid was not given in the first place,” Arrogancia noted.

—JEANNETTE I. ANDRADE

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