Persons with full vax in PH need certification to go abroad

MANILA – All fully-vaccinated individuals in the Philippines who wish to travel overseas need to first secure a certification indicating that they already received two jabs against the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19), Malacañang said on Friday.

This developed after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) revised on Thursday the guidelines on inbound international travel to any port of the Philippines of all fully vaccinated individuals who have been inoculated in the Philippines.

“The IATF issued a date of effectivity in the abovementioned guideline, which is, June 16, 2021,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque, who concurrently serves as IATF-EID spokesperson, said in a press statement.

Under IATF-EID Resolution 119 approved on June 4, fully-vaccinated individuals leaving the Philippines are only required to carry their vaccination card verified prior to their departure and present that to a Bureau of Quarantine representative for re-verification at the Department of Transportation’s One-Stop Shop upon their return to the country.

The IATF-EID, in its latest order, is mandating fully vaccinated individuals to present their vaccination cards before boarding.

Prior to their departure, the fully-vaccinated individuals are also required to carry a certification issued by the Department of Information and Communications Technology or the City Health Officer of the local government unit which administered the last dose necessary for full vaccination, Roque said.

Returning fully-vaccinated individuals in the Philippines only have to spend seven days in an isolation facility upon their arrival in the country, according to IATF-EID Resolution 119.

The fully-vaccinated individuals’ quarantine period is shorter than the mandated 14 days imposed on other travelers to the country.

They also need not undergo reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) testing, unless they manifest Covid-19 symptoms within the seven-day quarantine.

The rule does not apply to fully vaccinated individuals who receive the vaccine shots abroad, Roque earlier said.

On May 6, the IATF-EID issued Resolution 114, requiring all travelers who will go to the Philippines, including those who have already been inoculated against Covid-19, to stay in a quarantine facility for 10 days and observe home quarantine for four days.

Inbound passengers are also directed to undertake RT-PCR testing on their seventh day in the country.