Senator Imee Marcos pushes for faster issuance of digitized vaccination cards for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who need them to return to work abroad.
“A more targeted approach is the solution. Overseas Filipino workers with existing job contracts, business travelers, and students trying to catch the start of their school terms can be among the first to be given passes,” Marcos said.
The senator also recalled that the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) promised to launch vaccination passes in August during a previous Senate hearing.
“I distinctly remember because I believed it,” said Marcos.
Further, the senator recommended that the Philippines form diplomatic arrangements with countries with a shorter list of preferable vaccine brands for inbound travelers.
“Major OFW destinations like Saudi Arabia and Japan have not approved vaccines like Sinovac’s, which has already been administered to millions of Filipinos,” Marcos said.
“Even the DICT’s adoption of WHO technical standards for its VaxCertPH passes, complete with QR codes, may not be enough to assure unhindered entry abroad. Reciprocal arrangements between governments need to be worked out,” she added.
Imee Marcos wants faster issuance of digitized vaccination cards for OFWs
Last week, Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said Hong Kong does not accept the vaccination cards issued in the Philippines.
“Our vaccination cards are not accepted in Hong Kong because they are not connected to a single source. Poor OFWs (overseas Filipino workers) going to their jobs in Hong Kong even if jabbed,” Locsin said in a tweet on August 10.
Meanwhile, those traveling out of the country were first notified to obtain a “yellow card” from the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) as proof that they have been vaccinated against COVID-19.
The “yellow card” or International Certificate of Vaccination has been used by seafarers since the 1930s as proof that they have a vaccine against polio or meningococcemia.
It is recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO), so it is accepted in more than 190 countries.
Only fully-vaccinated people can also apply.
You can apply at boq.pisopay.com.ph and pay P370.
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