PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte said Monday, January 24, 2022, that some Muslim Filipinos in Mindanao have refused to get vaccinated against coronavirus disease (Covid-19) due to their beliefs.
"I think the Muslim community dito sa Pilipinas, mukhang ang karamihan is of the belief that it is not allowed by their, I don't know, religion or I may be mistaken. It may be that or something else sa culture nila," Duterte said after watching a video presented by Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Arthur Tugade showing unvaccinated individuals stranded in ports in Manila.
Tugade said the stranded unvaccinated individuals were mostly Tausugs.
Unvaccinated individuals were not allowed to ride or enter public transportation from Manila following a policy issued by the DOTr that aims to restrict the mobility of unvaccinated persons amid the increase in Covid-19 cases.
But Tugade said the stranded individuals were later allowed to travel back to their provinces after testing negative in Covid-19 antigen tests.
Duterte said he has already talked to Sulu Governor Abdusakur Tan to convince his constituents to get vaccinated against Covid-19.
National Task Force (NTF) chief implementer Carlito Galvez Jr. said only the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao remains below 50 percent vaccination coverage.
Health Secretary Francisco Duque said they are closely monitoring the Mindanao and Visayas region due to the spike in Covid-19 cases in these areas.
As of January 24, 123,365,808 doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in the country, of which, a total of 57,268,257 individuals have received two doses, while 59,799,215 got their first dose. (SunStar Philippines)