COTABATO CITY – As of March 2022, the regional government’s medical assistance program dubbed AMBAG (Ayudang Medikal mula sa Bangsamoro Government) has already spent a total of Php203,875,214.63 to help settle the medical bills of 28,466 indigent Bangsamoro patients.
AMBAG was created in November 2019 as one of the special programs of BARMM Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim, intended to help poor Bangsamoro patients within and beyond the region’s territories.
“When this program started in 2019, nagsimula tayo ng mga sampong partner hospitals and through the years, Alhamdulillah, dahil siguro nakita na malaki talaga ang naitulong sa atin pong mga kababayan, yung Government of the Day ay nilakihan yung pondo at dinagdagan po natin yung mga partners hospital,” said Cabinet Secretary Mohd Asnin Pendatun, AMBAG’s program manager.
To date, AMBAG already has 30 partner hospitals, which are:
Aleosan District Hospital
Amai Pakpak Medical Center
Basilan General Hospital
Buluan District Hospital
Cotabato Provincial Hospital
Cotabato Regional and Medical Center
Cotabato Sanitarium
Datu Alawaddin T. Bandon Sr. Memorial Hospital
Datu Blah Sinsuat District Hospital
Datu Halun Sakilan Memorial Hospital
Davao Oriental Provincial Medical Center
Davao Regional Medical Center
Dr. Amado B. Diaz Provincial Foundation Hospital
Dr. Cornelio T. Martinez Sr. Memorial Hospital
Dr. Jorge P. Royeca Hospital
Dr. Serapio Montaner, Al Haj Memorial Hospital
Iranun District Hospital
Lamitan District Hospital
Luuk District Hospital
Maguindanao Provincial Hospital
Parang District Hospital
Sarangani Provincial Hospital
South Upi Municipal Hospital
Southern Philippines Medical Center
Sulu Provincial Hospital
Tamparan District Hospital
Wao District Hospital
Zamboanga City Medical Center
Zamboanga Sibugay Provincial Hospital
Pendatun said AMBAG partnered with hospitals located outside the formal territories of the region as the Bangsamoro Organic Law (BOL) provides that the regional government shall also extend assistance to Bangsamoro communities outside BARMM.
On availing the medical assistance, Pendatun said “very easy to do yung ating process, pinadali natin ito.” He said patients only need to present their final bill and medical abstract to the AMBAG desk officer for assessment.
“After that mag-i-issue po ng endorsement letter yung ating desk officers, dun na ho nakasaad kung magkano po ang ibabawas ng AMBAG sa kanilang hospital bills, dalhin lamang po yung letter sa billing station o sa cashier,” Pendatun said.
Patients whose hospital bills extend beyond the initial amount limit of P10,000 will be forwarded to AMBAG Management Office for arrangements.
“Yung AMBAG po natin is a one-stop-shop, kaya ho naglagay tayo ng desk officers sa hospital mismo para dun na lahat yung processing, so hindi na po kailangang pumunta sa opisina sa OCM, kumuha ng requirements sa barangay, o kung anuman, dahil andun na ho lahat yung kailangan niyo po sa ating desk officers,” Pendtun said. (Johanie Mae Kusain/BIO)
