The Bureau of Immigration (BI) clarified that fully vaccinated passengers must present documentary proof upon arrival in the country.
In an advisory, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said those fully vaccinated in the Philippines must carry their vaccination card, which should be verified prior to their departure from the Philippines through the Certificate of Vaccination Record Portal of the Department of Information and Communications Technology, or the City Health Officer of the local government unit which administered the full vaccination.
“For those vaccinated outside the Philippines, they may present their International Certificate of Vaccination, or have their documents validated through the Philippine Overseas Labor Office, as the case may be,” he added.
Those vaccinated outside the Philippines must also come from the list of 57 “green” countries to be able to undergo a seven-day facility-based quarantine only.
These countries are Albania, American Samoa, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Benin, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cayman Islands, Chad, China, Ivory Coast, Eswatini, Falkland Islands, French Polynesia, Gambia, Ghana, Greenland, Grenada, Hongkong, Iceland, Isle of Man, Israel, Laos, Liberia, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Micronesia, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niger, Nigeria, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Rwanda, Saba, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Sierra Leone, Senegal, Singapore, Saint Eustatius, South Korea, Taiwan, Togo, Turks and Caicos Islands (UK), Vietnam, and Zimbabwe.
Morente said that passengers fully vaccinated abroad who stayed exclusively in any of these 57 places within the past 14 days immediately preceding their arrival shall undergo a seven-day facility-based quarantine.
Hence, Morente said they would only need to present a seven-day booking in a government-accredited quarantine hotel or facility during primary immigration inspection when they arrive in the country.
“They would also need to present said documents to the Bureau of Quarantine at the port’s Department of Transportation One Stop Shop (OSS) after immigration clearance,” he clarified.
Otherwise, Morente said other arriving passengers not fully vaccinated, not coming from the 57 territories, or do not have the required documentary proof, will be required by the BI to present a 10-day facility-based quarantine booking.
BI Port Operations Division Chief Atty. Carlos Capulong warned that foreign nationals who will not be able to present their quarantine bookings will be excluded for being improperly documented, while those who present fake bookings and are intercepted by the Department of Tourism and other OSS agencies may be referred back to the BI for the initiation of deportation proceedings. (BI) – jlo
