BTA bills seek toconstruct, upgrade hospitals in Basilan

COTABATOCITY Four measures to upgrade and construct hospitals in Basilan wereintroduced by Bangsamoro lawmakers in an effort to increase healthcarefacilities and provide more accessible medical infrastructure.

“Deliveringhealth services that are easily accessible at an affordable cost in times ofhealth emergencies and for underprivileged Bangsamoro constituents is vital toestablishing a lasting peace, ensuring progress, and maintaining the progressand gains of the people and the government,” said MP Amilbahar Mawallil.

UnderParliament Bill No. 105, a level 1 general hospital with 25 beds is beingpushed for at Maluso, Basilan, which will be directly administratively andtechnically supervised by the Basilan Integrated Health Office (IPHO). With onlyone rural health unit and 15 barangay health stations, residents of Maluso haveto travel to its nearby municipality in Sumisip to avail themselves ofessential hospital services.

Anotherproposed measure is also seeking to build a general hospital in Hadji MuhammadAjul. Under PBNo. 107, a level 1 general hospital with 25 beds will be constructed in HadjiMuhammad Ajul.

The HadjiMuhammad Ajul Rural Health Unit in Barangay Buton, according to one of theprincipal authors, MP Mawallil, is the only facility in said area that providesessential health care services, and patients still had to transport to itsnearby municipalities during emergencies and other urgent health service needs.

PB No.108 would also construct a level 1 general hospital with 25 beds in HadjiMuhtamad. Currently,Hadji Muhtamad has only one rural health unit serving the health care needs of26,867 residents. If enactedinto law, the said hospital will be under the direct administrative andtechnical supervision of the Basilan IPHO.

Lastly,PB No. 106 proposes to convert the Lamitan District Hospital into a level IIhospital, under the direct supervision and control of the Ministry of Health. Theproposed measure aims to upgrade the apex or end-re-

Sacdalan has expressed support for the proposed priority code and hopes for the bill’s immediate passage. Sacdalan added that he is confident that those barangays under the BARMM SGA that joined the Bangsamoro region are well taken care of, adding that the Bangsamoro Organic Law is a reflection of the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people.

Representing the youth sector, Nurolhidaya Mentoc, president of the Active Youth Alliance, also supported the proposed code and provided some proposals to the BEC.

Meanwhile, Ferdaussee Ali, the legal officer of the MBHTESchools Division Office of the SGA, raised concerns about the compensation and security of teachers during the election.

The BARMM SGA is composed of 63 villages from the towns of Midsayap, Aleosan, Carmen, Kabacan, Pikit, and Pigcawayan.

As proposed under Parliament Bill No. 29, also known as the Bangsamoro Electoral Code of 2022, the BEC will design the structural, functional, and procedural principles for the election of officers within the region in 2025.

Cotabato City Cotabato City

In Cotabato City, residents also declared their full support for the proposed Bangsamoro Electoral Code, according to Cotabato City Vice Mayor Johari Abu who said that BTA Bill No. 29 exemplifies moral governance, democracy, equal political involvement, and representation.

He also lauded the Bangsamoro Parliament for its efforts in enacting various laws and advancing the aspirations of the Bangsamoro people. The measure guarantees the conduct of fair, credible, and free elections in the BARMM by outlining its structural, functional, and procedural principles.

The Moro Women’s Development and Cultural Center, Inc., which also supported the draft code, asked the Bangsamoro Parliament to include the CSOs in their consultations, saying that doing so would help ensure fair and credible elections.

They also asked the MPs to involve youth, farmers, persons with disabilities, women, and indigenous people.

Nasserudin Dunding, Bangsamoro youth commissioner for Maguindanao, Cotabato City, and SGA, expressed gratitude for the inclusion of slots for recognized youth organizations and youth champions so that they can participate in the significant discussions that will also shape and define the political future of the younger generation.

He continued, that younger generation will actively participate in determining the direction of the Bangsamoro and strongly support the proposed code.

Under the proposed code, the 80 seats in Parliament will be divided as follows: 50% for party representatives, 40% for district representatives, and 10% for reserved seats for sectoral representatives. On the first day of session, the newly elected Parliament will elect among themselves, and by a simple majority, the Chief Minister, who will then nominate two deputy Chief Ministers, who will be elected by the members of the Parliament.

To date, the Bangsamoro Parliament has enacted administrative, civil service, and education codes.

The Bangsamoro Electoral Code is among the priority codes of the Bangsamoro Parliament that must be enacted within the transition period, along with administrative, education, civil service, local governance, revenue, and indigenous people codes.

The Administrative, Education, and Civil Service Codes are the three priority codes already passed into law during the first Parliament. The first leg of public consultations for the BLGC was held in the region’s island provinces of Basilan, Sulu, and Tawi-Tawi in December last year. (LTAIS-Public Information, Publication, and Media Relations Division) ferral hospital to protectand promote the right to health of the citizens of Lamitan City and itsadjacent areas. Onceapproved, the provincial hospital’s bed capacity will increase from 25 to 100beds.

Itsexisting service facilities and other services of the hospital are upgraded toconform with the bed capacity increase. The existing medical personnel willalso be correspondingly increased.

Mawallilpointed out that people’s inability to afford transportation to accesshospital-based medical services denies them access to health care services thatshould be theirs by right. “Imaginethe time it takes for these residents to travel to the hospital and theirplight if they endure long hours to avail of essential health services,”Mawallil said.The proposed measures wereprincipally authored by MPs Mawallil, Engr. Baintan Ampatuan, Atty. SuhartoAmbolodto, Atty. Rasol Mitmug Jr., Engr. Don Mustapha Loong, Rasul Ismael,Hatimil Hassan, Muslimin Jakilan, and Atty. Laisa Alamia. (LTAIS-PublicInformation, Publication, and Media Relations Division)