By Ali Macabalang COTABATO CITY – The Bangsamoro autonomous government has medical and health supplies for its frontline workers in the campaign against coronavirus disease (COVID-19), and has lauded the Philippine Air Force (PAF) for assisting in the transport of the much-needed supplies. Photo showing regional workers attending to boxes of health and medical supplies airlifted from Metro Manila by PAF cargo plane and delivered the autonomous government’s compound in Cotabato City on Tuesday. (Photo from BARMM) Boxes containing personal protective equipment (PPE), surgical masks, 70% Isopropyl alcohol, disinfectant solution, thermal scanners, assorted medicines, multivitamins, and misting tents were airlifted Tuesday from Manila by the PAF’s C-130 cargo plane. These were received at the government compound of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM), the region’s Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on COVID-19 announced Wednesday. According to BARMM-IATF spokesperson Mohammad Asnin Pendatun, nurses, doctors and frontline workers will be the priority recipients because “we need to ensure their safety and efficiency in serving” the region’s over four million people under the state of emergency”. Portions of the initial supplies will be distributed to Provincial Emergency Operations Centers (EOCs) in BARMM’s component provinces, namely Basilan, Sulu, Tawi-Tawi, Lanao del Sur and Maguindanao, he said. He said the regional IATF will be awaiting more PAF-assisted deliveries in the next two weeks. BARMM Health Minister Dr. Safrullah Dipatuan had earlier asked assistance from higher authorities for the transport of medical and health supplies his agency and the IATF ordered under purchase contracts forged with suppliers from Metro Manila about two weeks ago.