By Edwin Fernandez/PNA
COTABATO CITY — As Marawi City started to rise from the rubble of armed conflict, residents got a big boost after the national government vowed to expand the capacity of the Amai Pakpak Medical Center (APMC) in the area.
Dr. Kadil Sinolinding Jr., regional health secretary of the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (ARMM), on Friday said the health facility will be converted into a 400-bed capacity from its current capacity of 200.
“This came about after President Rodrigo Duterte approved into law Republic Act 11103 on October 30,” he said.
Lanao del Sur (1st District) Rep. Ansaruddin Alonto Adiong authored the bill that upgraded the APMC, the biggest government health facility serving Marawi City and Lanao del Sur residents.
Sinolinding said under RA 1103, the Department of Health in ARMM (DOH-ARMM), was tasked to oversee the infrastructure works of the expansion, which is set to start in the first quarter of 2019.
ARMM Governor Mujiv Hataman lauded Adiong for pushing for the rehabilitation and expansion of the largest hospital in the region.
The hospital was at the center of armed hostilities when terrorists laid siege to the city last year with the first reported casualties in front of the hospital.
Gun battles outside the health facility sent patients fleeing to safer grounds, including the elders, who were rushed away in wheelchairs and stretchers. Thousands, including soldiers and terrorists, were killed in the five-month siege of Marawi City.
