MARAWI CITY — Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) Health Minister Dr. Bashary A. Latiph blamed fake news scattered over the internet caused the slow turnout of vaccinees in the BARMM among others.
Latiph in a press conference following the kick-off ceremony of Bayanihan Bakunahan sa Bangsamoro at the Lanao Del Sur Provincial Capitol emphasized that fake news is the big factor that contributed to the hesitancy of its constituents from being vaccinated.
This added to the challenged of the very far areas without access road, no electricity that they had nothing to stock the vaccines in and some areas have had security issues with the presence of rido (family feuds). Adding that there is no internet connectivity.
"Itong fake news ang napakahirap i-address, pangalawa meron din sa culture e, karamihan sinasabi na ako tumanda na. Ang target population namin dapat 60 years old and above, kaya lang sinasabi nila tumanda na sila, hindi sila nagkasakit bakit ngayon pa sila magpabakuna", explained Latiph.
The 3-day Bayanihan, Bakunahan aims to inoculate nine million Filipinos to achieve herd immunity. In the Bangsamoro region the target is to vaccinate 900,000 thousand individuals of which 300,000 will come from Lanao del Sur province.
"This is the first time in the history of our country to have a mass intensification in terms of information drive, in terms of manpower. This is a whole of society approach, a whole-of-government approach to vaccinate our population", said Latiph.