UN anti-drug agency donates facemasks, COVID-19 supplies in BARMM

COTABATO CITY, Philippines — The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes has donated 79,360 biohazard facemasks and other supplies for anti-COVID-19 frontliners in the Bangsamoro regional police.

Lawyer Naguib Sinarimbo, Bangsamoro local government minister, said Saturday the supplies were turned over Thursday by a UNODC representative, Renato Reynaldo Rosales, to Police Brig. Gen. Samuel Rodriguez.

Rodriguez is the director of the Police Regional Office-Bangsamoro Autonomous Region covering the provinces of Maguindanao, Lanao del Sur, Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, where there is prevalence of COVID-19 cases.

The simple turnover rite capped off Thursday’s meeting in Cotabato City of the multi-sector Regional Advisory Council of PRO-BAR, whose presiding chairperson is Sinarimbo.

Sinarimbo said the donation from the UNODC also included more than 7,000 face shields and 127 thermal scanners that personnel of PRO-BAR can use in their coronavirus quarantine checkpoint duties.

“We are thankful to the UNODC for the supplies that members of PRO-BAR need to boost their efficiency in preventing the spread of coronavirus in the Bangsamoro provinces,” Sinarimbo said.

The regional police advisory council led by Sinarimbo is helping the PRO-BAR formulate measures essential to ensuring the efficiency of all its units in the region.

Sinarimbo also supervises the quick deployment Rapid Emergency Action on Disaster Incidence, or READI contingent, which is in the forefront of the Bangsamoro government’s war on COVID-19.

“We appreciate much the support of PRO-BAR, the military’s Western Mindanao Command and the 6th Infantry Division of the Philippine Army to our anti-pandemic initiatives,” said Sinarimbo, who is also Bangsamoro regional spokesperson.

Sinarimbo said their chief minister, Ahod Ebrahim, is also grateful to other agencies helping sustain the Bangsamoro regional government’s anti-COVID-19 efforts by supplying their local government, health and social welfare ministries with biohazard protection provisions.

Various UN agencies also have continuing capability-building interventions for Bangsamoro ministries that are together in preventing the spread of COVID-19 in all five provinces in the region.