Just a couple of days after presidential spokesperson Harry Roque announced that fully vaccinated travelers may use their vaccination cards instead of RT-PCR tests, the Department of Health (DOH) issued an advisory saying this will not be the case.
On Sunday, Roque said that proof of their vaccination status, either in the form of a vaccination card or a certificate of quarantine completion that shows vaccination status “shall be sufficient alternatives to any testing requirement, before travel or upon arrival, which the local government unit of destination may require”. This announcement is in line with Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-EID) Resolution No. 124-B.
After this announcement, however, some local government units—including Aklan, where tourist hotspot Boracay is located—expressed concern, countering that they would retain the negative test result requirements for the time being.
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Also read: DFA announces 177,500 new passport appointment slots (if you’ve got somewhere to go)
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In response, the DOH yesterday issued an advisory that says, in part: “As we iron out the operational concerns raised by some implementers, IATF Resolution No. 101 remains in effect, which affords the LGUs the flexibility to require a negative RT-PCR result before granting anyone entry into their locality.”
