Governor Arthur Yap has issued Executive Order (EO) No. 52 that lifts the requirement of a negative real time-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test result on fully vaccinated individuals upon their entry to Bohol.
Instead, they are required to present only a validated and authenticated vaccination certificate.
The new directive will take effect beginning 12:01 midnight of October 25, 2021. The full text of Executive Order No. 52 is printed on page 8-A.
A validated and authenticated vaccination certificate refers to the certificate which can be generated from the website vaxcert.doh.gov.ph, and is duly validated and authenticated by the Department of Health (DOH) Bureau of Quarantine through its approved application, VaxCertPHVerifier.
Based on the Inter Agency Task Force (IATF) Resolution No. 124-B series of 2021, the following are considered fully vaccinated individuals:
1. Those individuals with more than or equal to 2 weeks after having received the second dose in 2-dose vaccines;
2. Those individuals with more than or equal to 2 weeks after having received a single-dose vaccine.
3. The IATF Resolution No. 124-B also states that the vaccines administered to the individual must be included in any of the following:
a. Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) List or compassionate Special Permit (CSP) issued by the Philippine Food and Drug Administration or;
b. Emergency Use Listing of the World Health Organization
However, for those individuals who are not vaccinated or partially vaccinated, EO 52 provides that they still need to present a valid negative RT-PCR result taken not more than 72 hours prior to their departure for Bohol.
The penal provision of EO 37 series of 2021 still stands wherein any person caught using fake negative RT-PCR result, vaccination certificate and S-Pass will be fined P5, 000 and will be quarantined for 5 days in a Department of Tourism (DOT)-accredited quarantine facility at his/her own expense.
The EO 52 also provides that for those international arriving passengers which include returning overseas Filipino and foreign nationals, the provision under IATF Resolution No. 143 series of 2021 will apply.
Furthermore, EO 52 also mandates that personnel of the DOH-Bureau of Quarantine must be stationed at the airport and seaports to validate and enforce the requirement of a vaccination certificate.
GETTING VAXCERT
Boholanos and visitors alike who wish to generate their validated and authenticated vaccination certificate may visit the website www.vaxcert.doh.gov.ph.
The Bohol Tribune tried to go through the process so as to guide also those individuals who wish to generate their vaccination certificate.
This is the experience of The Bohol Tribune: On its landing page, there is an option that says “continue” if you are to ask for a vaccination certificate.
Upon clicking continue, you will be routed to the first step of the process. You will be asked to read a privacy statement, and if you agree, you need to tick the box that says “I have read and agreed to the privacy statement”. After this, you have to click “continue”.
Before proceeding to step 2, the next window will ask if you will be traveling abroad. Click the drop-down arrow of the question box and you will see options to either click yes or no.
We tried to click no at first. However, we were brought to a pop-up page that says we won’t be able to generate a vaccination certificate yet since the program is for OFWs and for those travelling abroad since the program is still in its pilot stage.
We asked the Capitol about this issue. Kevin Damalerio, an Executive Assistant of Gov. Yap said, “We are aware of this issue. This was also the team’s question to [Department of Information and Communications Technology] DICT when they conducted the orientation regarding this program. Ang reply lang nila is, for now, individuals must click yes on the question if they are going to travel abroad as they are still updating the program for its domestic use. Sa ilang manual pud nga gihatag, they require individuals to click yes on that specific question.”
“So while maghuwat ta nga mahuman nila ug update ang ilang system, we just follow their manual that requires us to click yes so we can generate the validated and authenticated vaccination certificate. After all, there is no difference man pud sa ilang vaccination certificate issued to international travelers and domestic travelers”, he added.
Following Damalerio’s statement, The Bohol Tribune selected yes from the option upon clicking the drop-down arrow. Then we were asked about our vaccination status. When we clicked the drop-down arrow, the options are either “fully vaccinated” or “partially vaccinated”.
In EO 52 issued by Yap, those individuals who are fully vaccinated are the ones allowed to use the validated and authenticated vaccination certificate in lieu of the negative RT-PCR test requirement. Having said that, partially vaccinated individuals still need to present a negative RT-PCR result.
Upon selecting the fully vaccinated option, we were asked whether it has been 48 hours past receiving second dose. We selected YES from the options.
After answering all qualification checks, we were asked to enter our personal details including the dates of our first dose and second dose of the vaccine. Then, we were asked to review our details. We made sure all our details were correct prior to the generation of our vaccination certificate.
In case, upon entering your details and information, the system cannot verify the data because the local government unit (LGU) which administered your vaccine has yet to update its records in the DICT system, the Vaxcert program will ask you to upload a picture of your vaccination card and a valid ID.
An option to request for alteration of an incorrect record can also be done and should only be backed by a picture of your vaccination card and a valid ID.
When all details and supporting documents are uploaded, it will only take minutes before you can generate your validated and authenticated vaccination certificate.