The BARMM administration building in Cotabato City (Photo courtesy of Bangsamoro Information Office - BARMM)
COTABATO CITY – Three lawmakers of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) have jointly filed a bill seeking an additional PHP50-million fund for the fight against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19).
The bill, authored by BARMM Parliament Deputy Speakers Ziaur-Rahman Adiong and Nabil Tan, with Ubaida Pacasem, sought the appropriation of funds for the acquisition of more oxygen tanks and other supplementary medical supplies to increase the region’s capacity in battling the pandemic.
“The oxygen tanks would be distributed to various referral hospitals in the region,” Adiong told reporters here Saturday.
In the explanatory note of the bill, the authors said the proposal is being introduced as a preemptive measure to guarantee a sufficient supply of oxygen in medical facilities in the region.
“If realized, the same will serve as a buffer stock to contend the possible scarcity of required oxygen so that BARMM constituents will not be deprived of oxygen tanks, should there be supply shortages in the future, as the number of Covid-19 patients is rapidly increasing,” the note said.
It added that the PHP50 million would be appropriated under the Quick Response Fund (QRF) in the Bangsamoro Treasury Office not otherwise adopted, as additional funding and budgetary requirements for the Fiscal Year 2021.
The region’s Ministry of Finance, Budget, and Management shall release the appropriated amount to the Ministry of Health (MOH), subject to usual accounting and auditing laws, rules, and regulations.
As of Saturday, the region has 877 active Covid-19 cases.
The MOH-BARMM also registered on the same day 28 new infections with this city topping the list with 22 cases.
The MOH-BARMM has earlier appropriated PHP380 million for the implementation of its Covid-19 response plan.
Dr. Bashary Latiph, the BARMM’s health minister, has assured constituents that while the MOH has focused on the fight against Covid-19, other programs on public health are not left behind. (PNA)
