HK to honor Bureau of Quarantine-issued vax certificates of OFWs

MANILA – Filipino workers vaccinated in the Philippines will be allowed entry in Hong Kong starting Aug. 30 upon presentation of Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) vaccination certificates, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced on Sunday.

In a news release, DOLE said the HK government has already agreed to let overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who received Covid-19 vaccines in the country to come and work provided they have vaccine certificates issued and validated by the BOQ.

Some 3,000 OFWs who are awaiting deployment to HK will benefit from the development.

OFWs will undergo quarantine in specified hotels, the cost to be shouldered by employers.

The HK government is now in the process of coordinating with partner hotels.

The HK government previously refused to honor vaccination certificates issued by local government units as they did not come from a single source.

The BOQ, through efforts by DOLE and the Philippine consulate in HK, prepared a draft vaccination certificate bearing the passport details of the OFWs as requested by HK.

Pending inclusion of those details in the yellow card, HK immigration will honor the vaccination certificates issued by the BOQ for incoming OFWs. (PR)