KALIBO, Aklan -- The local government of Kalibo is gearing up for the preparation of the World Tobacco Day on May 31.

Kalibo Councilor Cynthia Dela Cruz, chairman on committee on health, said Monday, April 8, that the preparation developed after she was recently invited as participant in the Some Free/Sin Tax Caravan held in Bali, Indonesia last March 11-13.

Aside from Kalibo, other local government units that participated in the forum were M’lang, North Cotabato; Buenavista, Guimaras; and the Oriental province.

The Bali forum was organized by the Philippine based Vital Strategies, a global health organization that seeks to accelerate progress on the world’s most pressing health problems.

The group combines evidence-based strategies with innovations to help implement and develop sound public health policies, manage programs efficiently, strengthen data systems, conduct research, and design strategic communication campaigns for policy and behavior change.

Dela Cruz said that among the proposed activities on May 31 were a video workshop contest, wall painting contest, photo frame making and health activities like zumba, fun run, and radio talk, among others.

“In the Bali seminar, we talked about our respective policy status on no smoking, profiling of barangays on smokers, search for best implementer, increased sin tax to lessen the use of tobacco. There is also a proposal to increase sin tax to lessen further the use of tobacco and help finance the Universal Health Care law which aims to expand health insurance to all and provides best health facilities and services to Filipinos,” she added. (SunStar Philippines)