COTABATO CITY — Bangsamoro Parliament Member Romeo Saliga has filed a measure in the Bangsamoro Parliament that would upgrade the existing South Upi Municipal Hospital in Maguindanao from ten to twenty-five-bed capacity.

The proposed bill also called for upgrading the hospital’s existing facilities following the national standards set by the Bureau of Health Facilities and Services under the Department of Health.

The South Upi Municipal Hospital is the only hospital in South Upi, and the majority of its patients are Indigenous Peoples from in Maguindanao and Sultan Kudarat provinces.

The nearest referral hospital is Cotabato Regional Medical Center in Cotabato City, about 63 kilometers distant and a two-to-three-hour ride.

Based on a statistical report, the SUMH bed occupancy ranges from 200% to 361.67%, with an average of 20-36 patients per day.

“With these statistics, there was overcrowding of patients and more workload on the personnel contributing to mental and physical exhaustion of hospital personnel,” MP Saliga said.

The Minister of Health is in charge of the administrative oversight of the South Upi Municipal Hospital and is authorized to develop and approve the proper organizational structure for the hospital’s management operations.

Under the Bangsamoro Organic Law, the Bangsamoro Government should provide a comprehensive and integrated health service delivery to its constituents and establish by law a general hospital system to serve the health needs of its people.

Other authors of the proposed Parliament Bill 148 are MPs Rasul Ismael and Susana Anayatin.

(Public Information, Publication, and Media Relations Division)