COTABATO CITY — The Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) filed four more hospital bills, seeking to establish and upgrade hospitals in Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM).
Parliament Bill Nos. 100 and 101 intend to convert Datu Sakilan Memorial Hospital in Tawi-Tawi and Buluan District Hospital in Maguindanao from Level I to Level II hospitals, with a 100-bed capacity.
The establishment of Ghazali Jaafar Memorial Hospital in Simuay, Sultan Kudarat, and Ustadz Hashim Salamat Memorial Hospital in Pikit, North Cotabato, both with 50-bed capacity, was proposed in Parliament Bill Nos. 97 and 98.
Said bills were introduced in the plenary by BTA member Dr. Saffrullah Dipatuan.
“The reason why I propose the construction and establishment in North Cotabato is that, currently, there is no hospital in the 63 barangays that opted to join the BARMM,” Dipatuan cited.
He said that the proposed hospital would serve residents of the municipality and those in adjacent communities.
“More than 200,000 Bangsamoro brothers and sisters are living in this area without the benefit of having a hospital of their own,” he added.
According to Dipatuan, medical facilities in the autonomous territory had already increased critical bed count due to the alarming increase of Covid-19 patients being hospitalized.
He also noted that aside from reaching capacity limits, medical staffing has also been a long-standing problem since the start of the pandemic.
“Because of these [challenges], I am appealing to my colleagues in this chamber to support me in passing the establishment of these hospitals so that we will be able to give justice to our brothers in the 63 barangays in North Cotabato and other municipalities,” Dipatuan petitioned.
(Publication and Media Relations Division)