'Doctor to the barrio' now BARMM parliament member

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — A physician, named one of Ten Outstanding Young Men of the World in late 2000 in Italy, is now a member of the 80-seat Bangsamoro parliament.

The “doctor to the barrio” Kadil Monera Sinolinding, Jr. was appointed member of the regional law-making group of the autonomous region by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

The international award he received in Italy in 2000 was among dozens of special citations for community service he got in line with his medical practice.

Sinolinding, most known as “Doc Jojo,” had served as health secretary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao that got replaced with BARMM in 2019 as a result of the 22-year peace talks between the government and the Moro Islamic Liberation Front.

As an ophthalmologist trained in India, he had treated more than 20,000 poor eye patients in the past 25 years, or thereabouts, via his charitable works.

He took his oath as member of the BARMM parliament, along with 79 other incoming regional parliament members, in Malacañang on Friday afternoon.