COTABATO CITY โ Thirty-seven indigent residents of the newly established municipality of Nabalawag in the Special Geographic Area (SGA) of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) underwent free ophthalmic surgeries last Friday, October 17, as part of a public service mission led by regional officials.
The beneficiaries, all from Barangay Kadigasan in Nabalawag, received cataract and pterygium operations at the Deseret Surgimed Hospital in Kabacan, Cotabato.
Medical Mission Beneficiaries
The surgeries formed part of a three-day relief and medical mission spearheaded by Bangsamoro Parliament member and Health Minister Dr. Kadil Sinolinding Jr., together with Chief Minister Abdulraof Macacua and personnel from the Ministry of Health-BARMM (MOH-BARMM).
Sinolinding, an ophthalmologist who trained in India, led the team in performing the procedures. Some of the patients were dependents of former members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) and the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), both of which have signed peace agreements with the Philippine government.
Nabalawag Mayor Datu Rhenz Tukuran said the patients came from farming and fishing families whose livelihoods depend on the lakes and rivers connected to the 220,000-hectare Ligawasan Delta.
โWe are deeply grateful to the Bangsamoro government officials who collaborated to make this three-day relief mission possible at Deseret Surgimed Hospital. Many of our residents benefited from this initiative,โ Tukuran said in a report on Monday, October 20.
Deseret Surgimed Hospital, through its community service foundation, regularly supports joint outreach efforts with the humanitarian action team of Sinolindingโs office in the Bangsamoro Parliament, alongside Chief Minister Macacua and MOH-BARMM. Several non-government peace advocacy groups also contribute to these medical missions in the SGA.
Life-Changing Opportunity
Barangay Kadigasan chairperson Datu Jasmin Mohamad said the patients could not afford treatment in private hospitals, making the initiative a life-changing opportunity.
โOur residents would never have been able to pay for cataract or pterygium surgeries on their own. This program gave them back not only their sight but also hope,โ Mohamad said.
The relief and medical mission reflects the Bangsamoro governmentโs continuing effort to bring essential health services closer to marginalized communities in newly organized areas under the BARMM Special Geographic Area.
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