COTABATO CITY: The Ministry of Health (MoH) regional office turned over a new ambulance to Iranun District Hospital (IDH) in Parang, Maguindanao, in a ceremony held here at the Bangsamoro Government Center on Thursday, April 7. Minister of Health Dr. Zul Qarneyn Abas, officer in charge, on Monday said the ambulance — fully equipped with medical equipment, instruments, accessories, and peripherals — was funded under the General Appropriations Act of the Bangsamoro for 2021, with a cost amounting to P3 million. Abas said the vehicle has an automatic external defibrillator, nebulizer, portable suction machine, examining light, aneroid sphygmomanometer, folding stretcher, scoop stretcher, heavy-duty stethoscope and oxygen cylinder, among others. "The ambulance is a very important tool in all emergency cases since it is used in transporting patients to health facilities, particularly those who need immediate medical attention and response," Abas said. "More ambulances are in the pipeline for more hospitals in the Bangsamoro Region to receive," Abas added. Moreover, Dr. Amirel Usman, MoH director-general and officer in charge of IDH, said the donation is a timely addition to the hospital's fleet of responders, particularly during the prevailing health crisis. "We only have one ambulance, in case we need an immediate medical situation, we can give help to our patients now that we have an additional ambulance. We are trying to make both ends meet for our constituents and we really need this badly," Usman said.