QUEZON CITY -- The Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) today told all local government units (LGUs) to recognize and accept both the LGU-issued vaccination cards or VaxCertPH digital certificates, whichever is available, for purposes of domestic travel while the VaxCertPH program is still under soft launch.
“We cannot require all domestic travelers to present VaxCertPH just yet since the program is still in its soft launch. We, therefore, advise all LGUs to accept both: the VaxCertPH digital copy or the LGU-issued vaccination card, whichever is available, until such time that the program is fully operational,” said DILG Undersecretary and Spokesperson Jonathan Malaya.
DILG Secretary Eduardo M. Año recently issued an advisory to all LGUs and DILG Regional, Provincial, and Field Offices regarding the VaxCertPH program after receiving information that some LGUs were requiring VaxCertPH for the issuance of S-Pass or the Safe, Swift, and Smart Passage (S-PaSS) Travel Management System for inbound travelers even though the program is still in limited use because many LGUs have not completely encoded all the vaccination details of their constituents in the Vaccine Operations Reporting System (VORS).
Malaya also clarified that either the LGU vaccination card or the VaxCertPH digital certificate will suffice. There is no need for a certification from the LGU to accompany these documents.
The VaxCertPH is currently operational for Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and Filipinos traveling abroad only and is not a requirement for domestic travel under IATF regulations.
Malaya said that the program is not fully operational because many vaccination records have yet to be uploaded in the Vaccine Operations Reporting System (VORS) by many LGUs nationwide.
“We urge all our LGUs to fast track the submission of their vaccination records and to assign more encoders so that the entire country can make use of the VaxCertPH program at the soonest possible time,” said Malaya.
VaxCertPH is the official digital vaccination certificate for Filipinos and foreigners vaccinated in the Philippines that may be used for international and domestic travel. It complies with the World Health Organization (WHO) Digital Documentation of COVID-19 Certificates (DDCC) guidelines.
It is a self-service portal that utilizes the vaccination data submitted by LGUs through the DICT’s VORS. It has a request and creation feature of “the COVID-19 Digital Vaccination Certificate”; generates a QR (Quick Response) code that authenticates the certificate, and it has a request feature where clients can request for updating of records if there is incorrect vaccination details or missing information.
There are two ways to get your VaxCertPH after getting vaccinated: through the website https://vaxcert.doh.gov.ph/ or by going to your LGU for assistance. One may generate VaxCertPH using a smartphone or computer as long as the information provided on the website is correct based on your vaccination cards.
In August this year, DILG issued Memorandum Circular No. 2021-095 enjoining local chief executives (LCEs) to actively participate and support the training programs conducted by the DICT about VaxCertPH.
Under Republic Act No. 11525, otherwise known as the COVID-19 Vaccination Program Act of 2021, the DOH is tasked to issue COVID-19 vaccine cards to all persons who have gotten inoculated. The DICT, in coordination with the DOH and DILG, was tasked to form a digital process that would certify that a person has been vaccinated in the country. (DILG)
