ARMM governor donates ambulance vans to 5 provinces

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) Governor Datu Zaldy Uy Ampatuan gave one ambulance vehicle for each of the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO) of the five provinces of the ARMM as a move to enhance the delivery of health services to the constituency of the region.

Funds to purchase the said ambulances shall be taken out from his Special Purpose Fund (SPF) of the locally generated revenues of the ARMM.The Regional Governor has directed the Office of the Regional Treasury to provide the needed amount for the project.

Ampatuan announced his move during his dialogue-meeting with the officials of the Department of Health at his sub-office in Shariff Aguak, Maguindanao on June 21, 2006.

Present during the meeting were DOH Regional officials, provincial and municipal health officials and chiefs of hospitals from all over the region.

The meeting, according to DOH-ARMM Secretary Lampa Pandi, was unique and first in the history of DOH-ARMM, where a regional governor personally sat down with the department officials in a meeting which lasted for hours to discuss issues and concerns affecting the department as well as moves to enhance the delivery of health services.

"This meeting is a unique in its kind because for the first time in the DOH-ARMM where a regional governor spent long hours of his time with the department officials to discuss issues and problems affecting the department. This is also the first time where problems raised by some health officials were immediately given concrete solutions. We therefore thank the governor for this support," Pandi said.

During the meeting, Ampatuan also announced the construction of municipal health stations to some towns in the region where there is no existing health station. He was saddened to learn the lack of necessary health facilities in many towns of the region.

The regional governor also directed Pandi to release on time the operational expenses of the hospitals and the IPHOs as well as the salaries and benefits of the health workers. He also directed the health officials to strengthen their services by way of synchronizing their plans and programs from down the line.

"I want to introduce changes in the Department of Health. You must involve your people down the line in the planning of your programs so that you will really know what are the needs of your department as well as the needs of the people you are serving to," he said.

He also directed Secretary Pandi to meet the health officials on a regular basis, probably monthly or quarterly, so as to maintain the smooth operation of the department.

Earlier, the ARMM chief executive also made the same dialogue-meeting with the officials of other line agencies of the ARMM as part of his efforts to introduce necessary reforms and' effective governance. (BPI-ARMM)