According to a group of local governments, coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination cards should be security marked to prevent them from being counterfeited.
This was mentioned in the face of the need to verify whether or not the vaccination cards presented at tourist hubs that allow “fully vaccinated” tourists to enter are fake.
According to the League of Provinces of the Philippines (LPP) President Presbitero Velasco Jr., all cards must be uniform to be easily verified.
They also said that LGUs should be allowed to decide whether to require swab testing on vaccinated tourists before entering their respective areas because their requirements and situations vary.
“Yun naman po ang posisyon namin. ‘Di naman po namin nilalahat ‘yung ganyang requirement – ‘yung testing bago pumasok. Discretion na po ng local chief executive ‘yan. Maaaring marami na pong nabakunahan na kanilang residente katulad po sa Baguio,” said Velasco, governor of Marinduque.
“Pero sa iba naman po na maliit pa lang ang porsyento na nababakunahan, para ma-attain ang herd immunity, ‘yan po ang bibigyan ng discretion na ma-impose ng testing requirements,” he added.
Placing security marks on vaccination cards urged
Meanwhile, some local officials in Metro Manila have assured that their vaccination cards will not be forged.
On TeleRadyo, Makati City Mayor Abby Binay said there is a watermark on their vaccine card, and it can only be seen through black light.
The card also has a QR code to verify the patient’s details.
In Muntinlupa City, their vaccination card also has a QR code that contains the patient’s data about the first and second doses. Then, it just needs to be scanned for verification.
It may be recalled that the government has reinstated the policy of presenting negative COVID-19 tests to fully vaccinated people on every trip, following the announcement by the Inter-Agency Task Force on Sunday that the vaccine card can now be used to get to the destination.
Local governments immediately expressed their concern over the policy, saying they had not been consulted.
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