COTABATO CITY — Officials of the Bangsamoro Ministry of Health (MoH) have committed to address fiscal issues besetting their workforce, one of which is the delayed payment of salaries of field workers due to various constraints.

The chairperson of the health committee of the Bangsamoro parliament, Kadil M. Sinolinding, Jr., said on Wednesday he is thankful to MoH officials, among them Minister Rizaldy L. Piang, for assuring during Monday’s dialogue to focus attention on complaints of delayed salaries of employees involved in community work in far-flung areas.

The hearing was held at the 80-seat parliament of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, also known as the Bangsamoro Transition Authority as confirmed by its Information and Communications Group.

Apart from tackling the delay in salaries which began about four months ago, the hearing also delved on improving the process of distributing the regional government’s health emergency allowances for beneficiaries, utilization of vaccines against various diseases, and the procurement of medical supplies.

Mr. Sinolinding, a former regional health secretary of the now defunct Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao, said the delivery of health services is “considerably tough” owing to the distance of most of the 118 towns of BARMM’s six provinces to the ministry’s provincial offices and the Bangsamoro regional capitol in this city.

The scattered island provinces of Basilan, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi, beset with lack of sea transportation and telecommunications facilities, are among the areas being served by the MoH. — John Felix M. Unson

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