At 42.2 ºCelsius (108 ºFahrenheit), the place sizzles. This is the highest temperature ever recorded for the place on August 19, 1912 and May 11, 1969. The lowest temperature was recorded at 12 ºCelsius (54 ºF). These extremes have been recorded in Tuguegarao, capital town (now a city) of Cagayan province in the Northeastern part of Luzon. Tuguegarao is some 486 kilometres from Manila. And Tuguegarao City is where CareHealth Plus maintains its pioneer branch office.
CareHealth Plus Systems International, Inc. opened its Tuguegarao branch sometime in the first quarter of 2016. From last year 2017 alone, CareHealth Plus-Tuguegarao ran steadily at a monthly average clip of 680k TCP with 45k ICBI.
Similar to the city’s sweltering heat, intense sales activities make CareHealth Plus-Tuguegarao a branch to reckon with, as its pioneer Branch Manager, Babileo Te, passionately nurtures a fiery sales team of 8 Sales Agency Managers (SAM), 29 Sales Group Managers (SGM) and 135 Sales Counselors (SC).
In equal measure, just like a doting mother to her children, Northern Luzon’s Vice President & Senior Division Head, Normita “Norie” P. Sahagun, mixes it up with the branch’s sales organization, guaranteeing unending ripples of hope for CareHealth Plus-Tuguegarao to land into the Top 10 branches nationwide.
Additionally, the tranquil disposition of Erwin-Orlene Urbanozo, Care & Operations Assistant (COA), sums up the warm care and attention she demonstrates as she attends to the needs of Cardholders, sales personnel and visitors.
CareHealth Plus-Tuguegarao holds office at the 2nd Floor of the Centennial Building along Arellano corner Blumentritt Streets, with office telephone number (078) 375 1058. Prestigious medical providers and diagnostic centers facilitate the medical requirements of the branch’s Cardholders: St. Paul Hospital-Tuguegarao, Holy Infant Hospital, Dr. Ronald P. Guzman Medical Center, Immaculate Heart Medical & Diagnostic Clinic, Carag Medical & Diagnostic Center.
Various tourist attractions welcome the visitor to Tuguegarao. Among these are the famed Callao Caves, located in nearby Peñablanca town, some 7 kms. away from Tuguegarao. The 7-chambered caves are rumored to be a legendary repository of Yamashita’s Treasure.
Closer to homebase would be the equally known Buntun Bridge, about 2 kms. away from the city’s commercial center. Buntun Bridge spans 1.098 kms., becoming the 2nd longest bridge in the country, crossing over the country’s longest river, the Pinacanauan. Approximately 15 kms. from Tuguegarao is the town of Iguig where the sprawling Calvary Hills is a favorite spot for tourists and locals alike.
The most favorite tourist attraction in Cagayan is the Shrine of Our Lady of Piat, located 42 kms. southwest of Tuguegarao. The Basilica Minore of Piat is one of twelve Basilica Minore in the country today; it enshrines the 407-year old black ivory image of Mama Mary. Commonly known as the Pilgrimage Center of the North, the shrine is designated as the Shrine of the Black Virgin. Fervent devotion to Mother Mary of Cagayan remains undiminished – and rightly so, since Our Lady of Piat is revered as the Patroness of the entire Cagayan province.
“Maddulô kamu” – this greeting is carved atop the Welcome Arch of Cagayan marking the boundary between the province of Cagayan and its adjacent province of Isabela.
The greeting is in Ybanag, the major local dialect of Cagayan, meaning literally “Please Come In” or, in short, “Welcome”.
Present-day Tuguegarao is a bustling and populous community, replete with a plethora of public and private commercial establishments, several public and private educational institutions and the acknowledged base of regional government centers. Only last October 2017, SM Center Downtown opened its prestigious stores to the local populace; it is the first in the province of Cagayan – and the 2nd in the entire Cagayan Valley.
Tuguegarao would not be Tuguegarao without its iconic “calesa.” Drawn by a single horse, the “calesa” is an inclined cart mounted on two second-hand jeepney tires and with two rows of wooden seats on each side. It has a tin roofing supported by the cart’s body made of wood and galvanized iron sheets. Until the present day, the resilient “calesa” remains to be a ubiquitous mode of transportation in the province of Cagayan, mixing it up in daily traffic with modern-day private cars, passenger jeepneys, tricycles, motorcycles, pedicabs, bicycles and other bigger vehicles, such as passenger buses, cargo trucks and vans.
This is sizzling Tuguegarao! Tuguegarao is where CareHealth Plus blazes its way over the top!!
Maddulô kamu!!
