Personnel of the Munai municipal health office administered vaccine shots to members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front in Lanao del Norte on Dec. 2, 2021. (Photo by RICHEL V. UMEL / Inquirer Mindanao)
MUNAI, Lanao del Norte, Philippines — More than 100 members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) in this town got their COVID-19 vaccine shots on Thursday, Dec. 2, during the culmination rites of the observance of the Mindanao Week of Peace.
The first and second doses were administered by personnel of the municipal health office of Munai town at the headquarters of the Northwestern Mindanao Front Command of the Bangsamoro Islamic Armed Forces (BIAF) in Barangay Tamparan.
Abdullah Macapaar, better known as Commander Bravo, called on the families of former MILF fighters and their supporters to avail of the free vaccines against COVID-19 to protect themselves from possible infection.
“If you value your lives and that of your families, please have yourselves inoculated,” Macapaar appealed.
Macapaar, who is currently a member of the Interim Bangsamoro Parliament, said the MILF commanders under his command had been ordered to join hands with government agencies and local governments in promoting vaccination in their communities.
Macapaar oversees BIAF base commands with a presence in Lanao del Norte and parts of Lanao del Sur, accounting for an estimated 5,000 former fighters. Under a 2014 peace deal with the government, the BIAF is currently in the process of being decommissioned.
Munai health officer Sofia Omar said Macapaar had his first dose on Nov. 2, but his second dose was deferred due to some minor medical issues.
BIAF member Samanodin Oraki told the Inquirer that he was afraid of getting infected with COVID-19. So he had himself vaccinated.
The Week of Peace culmination was attended by Northern Mindanao Police Regional Office chief Brig. Gen. Benjamin Acorda Jr., Minai Mayor Racma Andamama, Pakigdait trustee Musa Sanguila, Lt. Col. Marlon Famoso of the 2nd Mechanized Infantry Brigade, Kauswagan Mayor Rommel Arnado, Iligan City Police Office chief Col. Wilbur Salaguste, and Lanao del Norte Police Provincial Office chief Col. Isaias Bacurnay Jr.