BANGSAMORO NEWS UPDATES

COTABATO CITY --- Life for reforming former Abu Sayyaf bandits in Basilan could have been worse this time had they not bolted from the terror group before the province was placed under quarantine. 

At least 81 erstwhile bandits in Sumisip, Basilan whose reintroduction to the local communities have been stymied by the anti-COVID-19 quarantine received food supplies this week in an outreach mission that was for them a premium of their having returned to the fold of law. 

COTABATO CITY - As part of the transparency advocacy of the Bangsamoro Government, the Ministry of Finance, and Budget and Management (MFBM-BARMM) disclosed the breakdown of some 1.9 billion pesos worth of fund allocated by the regional government in response to the Coronavirus Disease (Covid-19) pandemic.

COTABATO CITY - The Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao's (BARMM) laboratory facility for Covid-19 testing, through the Cotabato Regional and Medical Center (CRMC), is now on its stage 3 of accreditation process.

"The CRMC is now on stage 3, wherein their personnel who will man the Covid-19 testing facility are undergoing trainings," BARMM's Health Minister Dr. Saffrullah Dipatuan said during a virtual press briefer on Wednesday, May 6. 

COTABATO CITY - Bangsamoro Government, through its Ministry of Finance, and Budget and Management (MFBM), has already released some P1.9-billion worth of funds since the start of Coronavirus Diseases (Covid-19) pandemic.

According to BARMM Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) Spokesperson Mohd Asnin Pendatun, the said funds were utilized for socio-economic relief for residents affected by the crisis, and efforts to contain the spread of the virus in the region.

MAGUINDANAO --- The Army’s 6^th Infantry Division is now trying to locate the Dawlah Islamiya bandits who killed Sunday night two soldiers enforcing quarantine regulations.

Privates 1^st Class Jermie Ombiang and Vicente Gata of the Army’s 57^th Infantry Battalion, died from multiple bullet wounds.

They were in a team guarding Barangay Talibadok, a hinterland area in Datu Hoffer when Dawlah Islamiya gunmen attacked them from different directions, sparking a brief gunfight.

COTABATO CITY --- Dawlah Islamiya bandits killed two soldiers enforcing community quarantine regulations and wounded another in an attack Sunday night in Datu Hoffer, Maguindanao.

The slain members of the Army’s 57^th Infantry Battalion died from multiple bullet wounds. 

They were in a team guarding Barangay Talibadok, a hinterland area in Datu Hoffer, when Dawlah Islamiya gunmen attacked them from different directions, sparking a brief gunfight.

BASILAN --- The provincial government of Basilan procured last weekend 10,000 more bags of rice for constituents displaced by its coronavirus containment effort. 

Besides rice, the office of Gov. Jim Salliman also purchased 1,000 more cases of canned sardines to augment the relief supplies it distributed in a series of outreach missions in the province early on. 

In a statement Sunday, Salliman’s office said the provincial government will continue to focus on alleviating the condition of constituents displaced by the province-wide COVID-19 health emergency. 

COTABATO CITY  - The Bangsamoro Government's Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD-BARMM) has targeted to complete the distribution of the Social Amelioration Program's (SAP) cash subsidy in the entire region on May 15.

This was announced by MSSD-BARMM Minister Atty. Raissa Jajurie on Saturday, May 2.

COTABATO CITY — Despite the challenges the country is facing with coronavirus disease (CCOVID-19) pandemic, the Bangsamoro Government, through its Ministry of Health (MOH), vows to continue fighting vaccine-preventable diseases.

This was the commitment of MOH Minister Dr. Saffrullah Dipatuan to the Bangsamoro children as the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) celebrates World Immunization Week on Wednesday, April 19.

COTABATO CITY - Members of the Bangsamoro Transition Authority (BTA) minority bloc has raised close to 1 million pesos to fund their own relief operations benefitting poor families gravely affected by the CoVid-19 pandemic in the Bangsamoro region.