MARAWI CITY — The Bangsamoro Parliament's Committee on Health has started a series of public consultations in different towns of Lanao del Sur on several proposed measures aimed at creating and upgrading hospitals in the province.

Member of the Parliament Dr. Safrullah Dipatuan, chair of the Committee on Health and author of four of the proposed bills, said that upgrading and creating these hospitals would improve access to healthcare services and medical needs of the people in Lanao del Sur.

"It is the moral responsibility of incumbent BARMM officials to make quality healthcare readily accessible to all residents, especially the poor and marginalized sector of society," he said adding that the failure to do so is tantamount to committing a grave injustice against them.

According to him, his desire to strengthen healthcare delivery is evident in the bills he principally authored, the majority of which is focused on upgrading and creation of hospitals.

Parliament Bill (PB) Nos. 75 and 99 seek to upgrade Dr. Serapio B. Montaner Memorial Hospital (DSBMMH) in Malabang town from Level I with a bed capacity of 25 to Level II with 100 beds and turn Tamparan District Hospital into a provincial hospital with a capacity of 150 beds.

Dipatuan said the DSBMMH is the only government hospital in Lanao del Sur that provides general surgery, obstetrical and gynecological services, and trauma, especially during the Marawi siege.

Balindong Municipal Hospital will also be upgraded from a first-level facility with a 10-bed capacity to a second-level with a bed capacity of 50 under PB No. 102.

Meanwhile, BTA Bill Nos. 96 and 114 calls for the establishment of first-level hospitals in the municipalities of Masiu and Tugaya, with a bed capacity of 50 and ten, respectively.

Patients from most parts of the province have to travel to Marawi City for consultation or hospitalization.

"Due to the distance and also financial constraints, some of the patients opt not to seek medical care at all," Dipatuan said. (BTA Public Information, Publication, and Media Relations Division)