Foreign donors, BARMM forge P1.6-B health investment deal

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The Bangsamoro regional government and three foreign benefactors forged on Friday, September 27, a five-year P1.6 billion health investment deal covering all communities in the southern autonomous region.

The physician-ophthalmologist Kadil Monera Sinolinding Jr., who is health secretary of the Bangsamoro region, told reporters on Saturday that he and officials of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) signed on Friday in Manila a Memorandum of Cooperation that outlined the modalities of the investment program.

Radio reports here and in nearby Central Mindanao provinces on Saturday stated that the governments of Japan, Korea and the United States of America shall together bankroll the program with a P1.6 billion worth of combined grants via the three transnational humanitarian and peace-advocacy entities.

The Memorandum of Cooperation was signed by Sinolinding, who is also a concurrent member of the 80-seat Bangsamoro parliament, JICA’s representative Sakamoto Takema, Kim Eunsub of KOICA and Ryan Washburn, who is USAID’s Philippine mission director.

Sinolinding was quoted in radio reports as saying that the support of JICA, KOICA and the USAID to the health thrusts of the regional government of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is a tacit “vote of confidence” for the Ministry of Health-BARMM and the office of Bangsamoro Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim.

“This cooperation compact shall go a long way in terms of delivery of health services in the Bangsamoro region,” Sinolinding said.

The now five-year BARMM covers the provinces of Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Basilan and Tawi-Tawi, and the cities of Lamitan, Marawi and Cotabato.

“We are grateful to the governments of Japan, Korea and the United States for this special program. Our province will benefit from this,” Basilan Gov. Hadjiman Salliman told reporters on Saturday via text message.

Friday’s crafting of the Memorandum of Cooperation among the three foreign benefactors and the MoH-BARMM was witnessed by Philippine Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa, Japanese Ambassador Endo Kazuya, Korean Embassy Minister Sang Seung-Man and United States Ambassador MaryKay Carlson.