By Alec Go
The Philippine government has allowed the shorter seven-day facility-based quarantine for inbound passengers considered as fully vaccinated in the Philippines and in “green” countries tagged as “low risk” for COVID-19.
Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) Resolution No. 123-C dated June 28 said the new policy takes place starting July 1.
The directive only recognizes vaccines with emergency use authorization (EUA) and compassionate special permit (CSP) from the Phillipine Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and those included under World Health Organization’s (WHO) emergency use listing (EUL).
Those who received such vaccines abroad must have stayed “exclusively in green countries/jurisdictions in the past fourteen days” to be qualified for shortened quarantine.
All fully vaccinated travelers, or those who have received all their doses at least two weeks before travel, are required to get tested for COVID-19 on their fifth day of seven-day isolation.
Travelers who will test positive are required to observe the country’s protocol for individuals with confirmed COVID-19.
“Itong testing requirement na nabanggit ko ay sasailalim pa rin sa review 30 days pagkatapos itong ma-implement,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in his June 29 briefing.
Vax proof requirement
Travelers that were fully vaccinated in the country are required to carry their vaccination cards verified through the Certificate of Vaccination Record Portal of the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) or by the City Health Officer of the vaccination site. The card must be verified before departure.
Those who were vaccinated in green countries are required to bring an official full vaccination documentation “validated through the Philippine Overseas Labor Offices (POLO), or present their International Certificate of Vaccination.”
The said documents are subject to reverification upon arrival at the Department of Transportation One-Stop-Shop (OSS) in airports after they are presented to the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ). –rir
