BAGUIO CITY, Philippines – Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA) General Manager Mark Lapid personally distributed three state-of-the-art Tourist First Aid Booths to the city government led by Mayor Benjamin Magalong, during a launch held at Burnham Park, Baguio City, on July 9.

The three Tourist First Aid Booths donated by TIEZA is one placed at Burnham Park (in front of the Tennis Court, near the skating rink), the second at Bayan Park and the third at the Botanical Garden.

According to Lapid, the first seven of the state-of-the-art Tourist First Aid Booths they purchased, worth P4.7 million each, are the first-of-its-kind emergency booths in the Philippines, with three for the Summer Capital and four for major tourist destinations in the country.

“TIEZA is not only focused on growing tourism in the country, but it is also related to providing protection to tourists while visiting the park, as in times of emergency, they can run to a booth, which has a first aid kit, computerized and instructions to be made to call or facilitate the response of the authorities.”

Lapid appealed to the public “Do not use the booth for nonsense, do not destroy it, but take care of it, guard it, because it is very important during emergencies.”

According to Mayor Magalong, the said booth is connected to the Smart Command Center, so the response to an emergency situation is sure to be fast.

“There is CCTV inside the booth, powered by solar panel so it is easy to see who is using it and I will have our Tourist Cops guard it 24/7 to ensure that the area is guarded. Let’s take care of it and use it properly in times of need, because Baguio is very lucky that we are the first and have been given many of these state-of-the-art devices.By Rose Frejane A. Cruz