COTABATO CITY — A bill seeking to upgrade Datu Halun Sakilan Hospital, a government-run provincial hospital in Bongao, Tawi-Tawi, has been filed by several BARMM lawmakers.
Dr. Saffrullah Dipatuan introduced Parliament Bill No. 100, or “Datu Halun Sakilan Memorial Hospital Upgrade Act of 2021,” to increase the hospital’s bed capacity to 100.
Based on the MOH-BARMM Annual Hospital Statistical Report, hospital bed occupancy reached 237 percent in 2019, way above the authorized bed capacity.
“Upgrading the hospital bed capacity would also entail an increase of the limited budget for its operations,” said in the explanatory note.
Amilbahar Mawallil, Al-Syed Ali and Eddie Alih filed a similar bill that would upgrade the hospital’s healthcare services and facilities as well as increase its bed capacity and medical personnel.
In Tawi-Tawi, municipalities are scattered over the islands, the only way for most of the population to get to the hospital is via boat. Travelling by boat takes 16 hours, and flight remains an economical option to travel to the nearest Level 2 medical facility in Zamboanga City.
“On behalf of our constituents from the island provinces, the doctors and allied health professionals of Datu Halun Sakilan Memorial Hospital, and as a native of the province of Tawi-Tawi, this representation is sponsoring the bill with urgency and without reservation,” authors said in the explanatory note.
(Publication and Media Relations Division)