DOT announced the acceptance of 12 more national vax certificates.

February 23, 2022 Tokyo

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Tourism (DOT) has acknowledged the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) decision to expand the list of accepted and recognized national Covid-19 vaccination certificates, approving twelve more from countries whose citizens are granted visa-free entry to the Philippines.

Two foreign tourists present their QR codes upon arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport on February 10, 2022. The Department of Tourism has welcomed the recent decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to expand its list of accepted and recognized national Covid-19 vaccination certificates.(File photo by Avito Dalan)

According to IATF-EID Resolution No. 162, national/state vaccination certificates from Argentina, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Chile, Denmark, Ecuador, Indonesia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Peru, Portugal, and Spain, which are primarily 12 of the 157 countries that can visit the Philippines visa-free under Executive Order (EO) 408, will be accepted and recognized as other proofs of vaccination required as entry requirements to the Philippines.

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These are in addition to the national Covid-19 vaccination certificates approved in previous task force resolutions.

The same resolution directed the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) One Stop Shop (OSS) to accept only vaccination certificates recognized by the IATF-EID.

“The Department of Transportation pledges to collaborate with other IATF-EID member agencies to make the travel process and requirements to the country easier for both balikbayans and foreign tourists.” On Saturday, tourism chief Berna Romulo-Puyat said, “This move will greatly aid in the restoration of jobs in the heavily impacted tourism industry.”

“We are grateful to the IATF-EID for this advancement, as we strive to make travel from visa-free nations as simple as possible.” In a statement, the tourism head added, “We look forward to welcoming people from all over the world, but with all the required health and safety standards in place.”

Meanwhile, Puyat stated that the Philippines and Singapore governments have agreed on a Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) initiative, which will promote arrivals from the latter.

Here is the full list of countries whose national vaccination certificates are recognized by the Philippines: https://visitor.tourism.gov.ph/vaxcert/. (PR)

Source: https://bit.ly/3HaiWoj