With the rollout slated to happen soon, Senator Imee Marcos hopes that the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) vaccines would become “halal” or permissible to the Muslim community.

“Being mindful of religious and cultural beliefs will prevent losses in government spending and encourage vaccination,” Marcos said.

Citing the Islamic law, Marcos said that Muslims are “haram” or forbidden from consuming pork and its derivatives, even the pork-extracted gelatin used to stabilize many vaccines during storage and transport.

Because of this, religious leaders in Indonesia declared the measles and rubella vaccines “haram”, which lead to fewer citizens being immunized and being one of the countries with the highest infection rates last 2018.

“Consult with halal-certifying bodies like the Islamic Da’wah Council of the Philippines, which comprises almost 100 Muslim organizations in the country, before finalizing the allocation of vaccines especially for BARMM (Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao),” Marcos advised.

A 2015 census by Philippine Statistics Authority states that around six million Filipinos are Muslims. However, according to a survey by Pulse Asia, 47 percent of the country’s population refuse to get the COVID-19 vaccine.