Sulu praises U.S. donations

ZAMBOANGA CITY - Sulu Governor Sakur lauded the efforts of the U.S. military in assisting this southern Filipino province in fighting the spread of the novel coronavirus or Covid-19.

Sulu Governor Sakur Tan with U.S. military officials headed by 

Captain Weston Bartkowski. (Sulu Task Force Covid-19)

Tan, chairman of the local task force on Covid-19, thanked the members of the Special Operations Task Force headed by Captain Weston Bartkoski, who recently donated protective suits for the Sulu Integrated Provincial Hospital or IPHO.

The protective suits were purchased by the Department of Defense and turned over by Bartkoski to Tan and Doctor Farah Omar, head of the IPHO. “The personal protective equipment for Sulu Provincial Hospital was procured by the U.S. Department of Defense as support to those risking so much to provide care for the citizens of Sulu,” Tan said.

Senior government and military and police officials also witnessed the handover of the donations which were airlifted by two helicopters to the capital town of Jolo.

“We thanked the U.S. government and the American people, and the U.S. forces for coming all the way to Sulu and turned over the donations despite United States is also addressing the pandemic back home,” Tan said.

The U.S. Embassy in Manila said Washington is providing an additional P201 million ($4 million) to help support vulnerable populations in Mindanao in the fight against Covid-19, bringing the total amount of U.S. pandemic assistance to the Philippines to over P978 million ($19.5 million).

U.S. Ambassador Sung Kim also had a virtual meeting recently with Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) officials, led by Chief Minister Ahod Ebrahim, who also chairs the BARMM Inter-Agency Task Force on Covid-19, and reiterated U.S. commitment to partnering with the Philippines to address the pandemic in the region.

The meeting provided an opportunity for BARMM leadership to discuss challenges and present its Covid-19 contingency plan, while Kim and U.S. Agency for International Development or USAID Mission Director Lawrence Hardy provided updates on U.S. Covid-19 assistance.

“In these trying times, I am inspired by the resilience and courage of the Filipino people. The United States and the Philippines have met and overcome many challenges together, and I am confident that working together we will overcome this challenge as well,” Kim said.

He said with the additional $4 million in humanitarian assistance, USAID will protect vulnerable populations – those displaced by conflict and the recent earthquakes in Mindanao – from the on-going health crisis.  USAID and its partners will work with local governments, local health authorities, and communities so that vulnerable populations have access to the most accurate and up-to-date health messages.

USAID partners will reach over 100,000 persons with distributions of essential hygiene supplies, hand-washing stations, and hygiene promotion to reduce transmission risk and help communities re-open.  USAID will also continue to provide vital water supply in transitory sites in Lanao del Sur for families displaced by the Marawi siege and in North Cotabato for earthquake-affected communities.

The U.S. has provided more than P228 billion ($4.5 billion) in development assistance to the Philippines over the past 20 years, including over P29 billion ($582 million) in health assistance. (Zamboanga Post)

Like Us on Facebook: The Mindanao Examiner
Like Us on Facebook: The Zamboanga Post
Follow Us on Twitter: Mindanao Examine
Mirror Site: Mindanao Examiner Blog
Digital Archives: Mindanao Examiner Digital
Media Rates: Advertising Rates