Press Release
August 2, 2021

Poe: Unified vaccine cards can save jobs and the economy

Sen. Grace Poe pushed for the expansion of the coverage of vaccine cards to allow more mobility for fully inoculated individuals and make it easier for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to travel for employment.

"Now that we are once again about to enter a two-week hard lockdown, we need to have a recovery plan for the economy to keep businesses from closing and more people from losing jobs in the pandemic," said Poe.

Poe recently filed Senate Bill No. 2321 to expand the objectives of the vaccine card from being a purely informative record to a recognized document which a fully vaccinated individual can use as a requirement abroad or domestic travel, as may be allowed under the regulations of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).

Due to the purely informative nature of the vaccine card as provided for in the law, it remains an insufficient proof of inoculation to allow individuals to travel, especially the OFWs who need to leave the country for employment.

According to Paragraph B of IATF Resolution No. 120, series of 2021, a fully vaccinated individual must have their vaccination card as well as a certificate issued by the Department of Information and Communications Technology or the City Health Officer of the local government unit which administered the last dose necessary for full vaccination.

"Our OFWs have kept our economy afloat in the pandemic, and yet we are making it harder for them to make a living by requiring two different documents that serve the same purpose," said the senator.

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[FILIPINO VERSION]

Pinag-isang vaccine card malaking tulong—Poe

Isinusulong ni Sen. Grace Poe ang pagpapalawak ng saklaw ng vaccine card para mas makagalaw ang mga nabakunahan nang indibidwal at maging madali para sa overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) na makabiyahe para sa kanilang trabaho.

"Ngayong muli na namang ipinatupad ang dalawang linggong lockdown, kailangang magkaroon ng recovery plan sa ekonomiya para hindi magsara ang mga negosyo at hindi mawalan ng trabaho ang mga tao sa gitna ng pandemya," sabi ni Poe.

Nauna nang naghain si Poe ng Senate Bill No. 2321 para palawakin ang layunin ng vaccine card mula sa pagiging purong informative record tungo sa isang kinikilalang dokumento kung saan ang fully vaccinated na indibidwal ay maaaring gamitin ito bilang requirement abroad o sa domestic travel, alinsunod sa regulasyon ng Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF).

Dahil 'informative' lang ang katangian ng vaccine card tulad ng nakasaad sa batas, nananatiling hindi ito sapat na 'proof of inoculation' para payagan ang mga mamamayang makabiyahe lalo na ang OFWs na kailangang umalis ng Pilipinas para makapagtrabaho sa ibang bansa.

Ayon sa talata B ng IATF Resolution No. 120, series 2021, ang isang fully vaccinated na indibidwal ay dapat magkaroon ng vaccination card at certificate na inisyu ng Department of Information and Communications Technology o City Health Officer ng local government unit na siyang namahala sa huling dose na kailangan para sa full vaccination.

"Pinapagaan ng ating mga OFW ang hagupit sa ekonomiya ng pandemya at ngayo'y pinahihirapan natin silang kumita ng pera sa pamamagitan ng pag-obliga sa kanila ng dalawang magkaibang dokumentong iisa naman ang layunin," sabi pa ng senador.

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