Cotabato Province, BARMM Health Ministry Sustain Services For SGA Towns

KIDAPAWAN CITY, Philippines — Residents of eight newly created Moro towns in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao’s (BARMM) Special Geographic Area (SGA) have welcomed the continued cooperation between the Cotabato provincial government and the Bangsamoro Ministry of Health, saying the partnership has ensured uninterrupted delivery of basic services despite jurisdictional changes.

The towns—Pahamuddin, Kadayangan, Nabalawag, Old Kaabakan, Kapalawan, Malidegao, Tugunan, and Ligawasan—cover 63 barangays that were formerly part of different municipalities in Cotabato. These areas officially became part of the SGA after residents voted in favor of joining the proposed Bangsamoro territory during the 2019 plebiscite.

Radio reports on Monday, January 12, said BARMM Health Minister Kadil Sinolinding Jr. met last week with Cotabato Governor Emmylou Talino-Mendoza at the provincial capitol in Kidapawan City. The two officials agreed to sustain coordination in providing health services to SGA residents.

Although the eight towns now fall under BARMM’s political jurisdiction, they remain geographically located within Cotabato, a component province of Region 12.

“We are grateful to the office of the Cotabato governor,” said Mohammad Kellie Antao, a member of the 80-seat Bangsamoro Parliament from Libungan town in Cotabato, who has relatives living in the SGA.

Antao said the provincial government has continued to extend health care, social welfare assistance, and other basic services to residents of the 63 barangays, even though the areas are no longer under its administrative authority.

Residents also cited continued food assistance from the provincial government. Mursid Andig, a 70-year-old farmer from Old Kaabakan, said Talino-Mendoza’s office regularly distributes rice to residents and to religious leaders overseeing mosques in different barangays during the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan.

“The Cotabato provincial government, in fact, does not have any obligation to do that anymore,” Andig told reporters in Filipino, speaking with a Maguindanaon accent.

Sinolinding, an ophthalmologist who also serves as a member of the Bangsamoro Parliament, said the provincial government is likewise assisting the Philippine National Police and the Army’s 602nd Infantry Brigade in maintaining peace and order in the SGA.

Mayors of the eight SGA towns, including Ligawasan Mayor Esmael Mama, echoed the importance of the intergovernmental cooperation, particularly in ensuring public safety and access to health services.

Sinolinding added that Cotabato has also been allocating funds to private hospitals in the province to help cover portions of medical expenses incurred by marginalized Moro patients from any of the eight newly established SGA towns.

— Daily Sun Chronicle