Health workers in Tawi-Tawi town receive stipend from BARMM

COTABATO CITY — At least 72 barangay health workers (BHW) in the remote Sapa-Sapa island town in Tawi-Tawi each received long due P12,000 cash incentives for three months from the Bangsamoro government, stalled by poor connectivity between them and regional capitol.

Radio reports here and in Zamboanga City on Friday stated that the newly-appointed health minister of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, the physician-ophthalmologist Kadil Monera Sinolinding Jr., personally delivered the funds to Sapa-Sapa on Tuesday as directed by BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Balawag Ebrahim.

In a statement released Thursday, the local government unit of Sapa-Sapa expressed gratitude to the Ministry of Health-BARMM for the release of the P12,000 allowance each to the 72 BWHs despite not being administratively under the Bangsamoro regional government.

Sinolinding told reporters that the three-month stipends for the 72 Sapa-Sapa BHWs were delayed due to communication and documentation constraints, the island town being so far away from the seat of the BARMM government in this city.

“But we have laid procedures to address those issues,” Sinolinding, concurrent member of the 80-seat Bangsamoro parliament, said in a text message to reporters on Friday.

He said that they shall now ensure smooth and efficient connectivity with BHWs in Tawi-Tawi and BARMM’s five other provinces, Maguindanao del Sur, Maguindanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Basilan and Sulu.