THE Provincial Government of Maguindanao has reopened the Parang District Hospital to serve as one of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) facilities in that province.
Maguindanao Governor Bai Mariam Mangudadatu, who led the opening ceremony Tuesday, May 12, emphasized the need to prioritize sufficient health services for the people.
The district hospital in the town of Parang, Maguindanao has been closed from the public for the past 24 years.
“We need not to focus solely on the relief assistance. Relief goods are not the remedy for Covid-19,” Mangudadatu said.
Mangudadatu said the provincial government has equipped the hospital with medical supplies and equipment.
Mohd Asnin Pendatun, Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (Barmm) Cabinet secretary, said the opening of Parang District Hospital “is a manifestation of that collaboration that we need during trying times...it signals a stronger message that we, in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region and the province of Maguindanao, will not let Covid-19 win.”
Pendatun said since the declaration of public health emergency in the country, the regional government has been working tirelessly to ensure that the pandemic does not cause too much pain and suffering to the Barmm community.
He said they are also looking forward into the future in which Parang District Hospital will also be a partner hospital in the Barmm’s Ambag program.
Ambag, (Ayudang Medikal mula sa Bangsamoro Government, is a banner program of the Office of the Chief Minister (OCM), which provides medical assistance to indigent constituents in Barmm.
“We allocated funds to our partner hospitals. The funds will be used to help pay the medical finances of our constituents,” he said.
“We were able to give assistance to at least 3,000 patients, and most of them were discharged without paying a single peso,” he added citing it is a testament to the call of the chief minister to prioritize health care service.
Pendatun also stressed that while the number of Covid-19 cases in the Barmm is “significantly lower compared to other regions, this does not mean that we can already be complacent.”
To date, Barmm has only recorded a total of 11 Covid-19 cases all over the region.
Seven of them have already recovered, four died, one under strict home quarantine, and zero admission in hospitals.
On Saturday, May 16, the Barmm is among the regions to lift the enhanced community quarantine, as it has been determined by the National Inter Agency Task Force on Covid-19 as one of the regions with low-risk level of Covid-19 transmission. (SunStar Zamboanga)