BARMM BUILDS COVID-19 QUARANTINE IN 40 DAYS
COTABATO CITY—THE oneyear-old Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) interim regional government built in just 40 days a 100-bed isolation and treatment facility for new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) patients, significantly boosting local capacity to address the challenges of the health emergency.
With a 1,000-square-meter floor area, the facility is a completely new structure built within the compound of the government-owned Cotabato Sanitarium Hospital (CSH) in Sultan Kudarat town of Maguindanao province.
“No one ever thought that this will be a reality in 40 days time,” said CSH chief Dr. Ibrahim Pangato.
Design consultations
Bangsamoro health minister Saffrullah Dipatuan said the building underwent various design consultations and met the minimum standards set by the World Health Organization for a COVID-19 isolation facility.
Costing P21 million, the facility was designed so it can also be used as accommodation for other patients when the pandemic is over, said Bangsamoro public works minister Eduard Guerra.
The facility’s completion increased the number of available space to house suspected or confirmed COVID-19 cases in the region.
The facility was inaugurated on Thursday and turned over to the management of
CSH. It was expected to start operation within two weeks.
“As a result of our resolve to combat this disease, here we are today, fulfilling another phase in this battle,” said Bangsamoro chief minister Murad Ebrahim, who led the inaugural rites.
So far, the Bangsamoro government under Ebrahim’s leadership has fared well in the fight against the coronavirus.
As of May 28, the region has 24 COVID-19 cases but only 13 were still in isolation. Seven had recovered while four had died.
After three weeks of having no cases, the numbers spiked on May 26 when 12 of 16 Maguindanao residents stranded in Cebu returned home and tested positive for COVID-19.
Deeper pocket
The incoming challenge is the return of overseas Filipino workers and stranded persons in various parts of the country.
Now with a deeper pocket compared to the previous autonomy setup, the BARMM government invested P1.9 billion for initiatives to fight COVID-19. This enabled the Bangsamoro government to build isolation facilities in Sultan Kudarat town and in Datu Blah Sinsuat town, also in Maguindanao;
set aside P14.1 million to upgrade the equipment and testing capacity of the Cotabato Regional Medical Center; and provide augmentation funds to its component local governments to boost their delivery of relief assistance. Each of its 116 municipalities received P1 million; P2 million each for the cities of Marawi, Cotabato and Lamitan; P5 million each for the provinces of Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-tawi; and P8 million for the 63 villages in Cotabato province.