Ministry of the Interior and Local Government - Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao minister Naguib Sinarimbo. (Photo courtesy of BPI-BARMM)
COTABATO CITY – The head of the Ministry of the Interior and Local Government-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (MILG-BARMM) has appealed to all local government units (LGUs) in the region to help locate Muslim religious leaders (MRLs) who attended a recent gathering in Malaysia where a spike on Covid-19 cases had been reported.
In a memorandum issued on March 22, MILG-BARMM minister Naguib Sinarimbo has also appealed to BARMM constituents who might know the whereabouts of the concerned MRLs in the region.
“Salaam (Peace) Bangsamoro. Please help us and our local government units (LGUs) in tracking the whereabouts of our fellow Bangsamoro residents who attended the ‘Ijtima’ in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia,” he said.
Likewise, the MILG-BARMM official also called on the MRLs who attended the Ijtima earlier this month to volunteer on submitting themselves before appropriate authorities for their safety and that of their families against Covid-19.
Three of the total 215 Filipino Muslim “tabligh” (preachers) who attended the “Ijtima” congregation in Malaysia have so far tested positive for the disease.
“One patient is presently confined at the Cotabato City Regional Medical Hospital, another came forward and also currently undergoing quarantine in Lanao del Sur, while the third died at the Amai Pakpak Medical Center in Marawi City,” Sinarimbo said.
Sinarimbo has directed all governors, city and town mayors through their respective inter-agency task force on Covid-19 “to expedite tracking these attendees, determine their health status and report immediately to the Regional Inter-Agency Task Force on Covid-19.
Specifically, he ordered all 2,590 barangay chairpersons through their respective barangay health emergency response teams (BHERTs) “to speed up contact-tracing and monitoring of these suspected people to be considered as persons under monitoring in their barangays.
He also tasked all the BHERTs to ensure all their constituents in the barangay are all accounted for. (PNA)
