The Manila Times

‘Prioritize rules for vaccinated travelers’

BERNADETTE E. TAMAYO WITH JOMAR CANLAS

SEN. Panfilo “Ping” Lacson urged the government to speed up the implementation of new quarantine protocols for vaccinated Filipinos to benefit not just returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) but also the economy.

Lacson on Sunday supported the move of the National Task Force Against Covid-19 to draw up standard guidelines that apply to Filipinos vaccinated here or abroad.

He said economic recovery cannot wait. “Please make it sooner, not later. Mind the economy for a change,” the senator said on Twitter.

He was referring to reports quoting vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. as saying the task force was working on the same quarantine controls for both OFWs who had been jabbed and individuals vaccinated here in the Philippines.

Lacson earlier pushed for a vaccine passport system that will make traveling to the Philippines easier for vaccinated people, especially returning OFWs and foreign investors.

He urged the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to fine-tune the protocols to make sure they are “in sync with those of other countries.”

Lacson also threw his support behind the reported recommendation of the Department of Health (DoH) to scrap the Covid-19 testing requirement for inbound Filipinos who were fully vaccinated abroad.

“Way to go! This is one sensible adjustment our kababayans abroad who miss their families here have been wanting to hear from DoH,” he said in a separate statement.

Lacson also called for fiscal discipline for boosting economic recovery, which may entail a “barebones” national budget for at least the next three years, amid reports Fitch Solutions sees the peso may weaken over the longer haul.

“Agencies habitually scramble to realign/spend their appropriations at the start of the fourth quarter, wasting people’s money,” Lacson said.

“We can’t go on borrowing while wasting money on corruption and incompetence. ‘Barebones’ implies not sacrificing essentials including budget for economic recovery. It also includes fiscal discipline,” he added. According to Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente, fully vaccinated travelers arriving in the country are not exempted from quarantine protocols.

Morente reminded passengers arriving from abroad they still have to undergo mandatory sevenday quarantine in a governmentaccredited facility.

The arrivals will no longer be tested for Covid-19 if they do not exhibit symptoms while under quarantine.

Immigration offices were swamped with queries on whether passengers who have been vaccinated here need testing and quarantining on arrival.

“The pertinent resolution of the IATF clearly provides that all arriving fully-vaccinated individuals are required to undergo seven-day facility-based quarantine upon arrival, with the day of arrival being the first day,” he said.

A passenger will be swab-tested only if Covid-19 symptoms manifest during the seven-day quarantine.

Morente reminded departing fully-vaccinated passengers to bring their vaccination cards which they will present to the Bureau of Quarantine at the airport upon their return.

He also advised passengers to secure a certification that they were fully vaccinated before their departure from the Department of Information and Communications Technology or city/municipal health officer of their local government.

The new protocol for fullyvaccinated passengers takes effect on Tuesday, Morente said.

A passenger is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after completing the second dose or first dose for a single-dose vaccine authorized by the Food and Drug Administration.

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2021-06-21T07:00:00.0000000Z

2021-06-21T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://digitaledition.manilatimes.net/article/281728387477387

The Manila Times