By Ali Macabalang COTABATO CITY – Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito Galvez Jr., concurrent chief implementer of the government’s National Action Plan (NAP) for COVID-19, has acknowledged the cohesive approach being carried out in areas of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) against the pandemic. Presidential Peace Adviser Carlito G. Galvez Jr.
(OPAPP / MANILA BULLETIN) In a statement released by his office Wednesday, Sec. Galvez described the operations of the BARMM governance constituting itself as regional inter-agency task force (IATF) as an advantage over administrative regions in the delivery of medical and relief services for people affected by the campaign against COVID-19. The BARMM bureaucracy, through its IATF, has direct administrative and operational authority over line agencies and local government units (LGUs) in its component five provinces, three cities, 118 towns, and 2,590 barangays, while other regular regions lack such a setup in their IATFs, Galvez said. He cited as an example the speedy allocation of P115-million by the autonomous government, through the Ministry of Interior and Local Government (MILG), to LGUs; the download of an initial P7.3-million social welfare fund by the Ministry of Social Services and Development (MSSD); the harmonized releases of medical and health supplies by the Ministry of Health (MoH); and the synchronized dispersal of relief goods across the region. The Ministries of Labor and Employment, Trade and Industry, Agriculture and Fisheries, and other regional cabinet agencies have also been quick to deliver on their tasks required by the national IATF because of their instant access to the BARMM bureaucracy led by Chief Minister Ahod “Hadji Murad” Ebrahim, according to the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP). In regular administrative regions, the field offices of government line agencies need approval from Manila for approval of or guidance in their tasks prescribed or agreed upon in regional IATFs. In fighting COVID-19, Galvez said, “Major interventions (are well) implemented (under a) decentralized” setup. Given the advantage enjoyed by the autonomous region, Galvez said he was confident about the successful implementation of interventions against the spread of COVID-19 in the country. He urged the over four million “Bangsamoro people and all Filipinos to stand with our government,” adding that “we need your full cooperation so we can overcome this crisis.” “I have no doubt we shall win this battle if we are united and work hand in hand,” Galvez said. Meanwhile, the individual members of the 80-seat BARMM parliament have announced the launch of their respective dispersals of relief foods and basic medical supplies to their constituents affected by provincial lockdowns, Parliament Member Maisara Dandamun-Latiph said her volunteers have so far delivered 1,770 food packs and 1,060 hygiene kits to families and individuals within and outside BARMM, while counterpart Diamila Disimban-Ramos said she had served frontline health workers with close to 500 packed lunches at the start of her dispersal this week.