President Ferdinand 'Bongbong' Marcos Jr. has approved the recommendation of easing testing and quarantine protocols for travelers entering the Philippines who are either unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, or whose vaccination status cannot be independently validated.
This was based on a memorandum signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on October 28.
Under the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) Resolution No. 2, pre-departure testing for fully vaccinated inbound travelers, whether Filipinos or foreign nationals, will no longer be required.
Filipinos and foreign travelers shall be deemed fully vaccinated if he or she had received the second dose of a two-dose series or a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine more than 14 days prior to the date and time of departure from the country of origin or port of embarkation.
They must also present a World Health Organization International Certificate of Vaccination and Prophylaxis; VaxCertPH; national or state manual/digital vaccination certificate of the country/foreign government; and other proof of vaccination.
Meanwhile, those who are unvaccinated, partly unvaccinated, or whose vaccination status could not be independently validated, must comply with the following:
• Filipinos and foreign nationals 15 years or older shall present a remotely supervised, or a laboratory-based rapid antigen negative result administered and certified by a healthcare professional in a healthcare facility, laboratory, clinic, pharmacy or other similar establishment taken within 24 hours prior to the date and time of departure from the country of origin/first port of embarkation in a continuous travel to the Philippines, excluding lay-overs; provided that he/she has not left the airport premises or has not been admitted into another country during such lay-over.
• Accompanied minors below 15 years of age who are not vaccinated for any reason shall follow the quarantine protocols of their parent/s or an accompanying adult/guardian traveling with them.
• Unaccompanied minors below 15 years of age who have not been vaccinated for any reason shall follow the protocols set forth in Section B (1) and (2) above.
The resolution noted that those who shall test positive through rapid antigen tests shall be subjected to the latest prevailing protocols of the Department of Health (DOH).
Under the said memo, the Palace tasked the Bureau of Quarantine, in coordination with DOH and other agencies, to identify other acceptable proofs of vaccination to avoid confusion and inconvenience on the part of inbound travelers and facilitate the dissemination of public information.
Last week, President Marcos made the use of face masks "optional" for both indoors and outdoors across the country amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The directive was provided under Executive Order No. 7, marking the first time since March 2020 that the public has had the option to wear face masks or otherwise in indoor settings
