At least 138,000 digital vaccination certificates for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) have been distributed so far since its launch, the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) said.
DICT Undersecretary for Digital Philippines Emmanuel Rey Caintic said the figure is more than half of the 225,000 requests that the agency has received nationwide.
“So far, we have already issued 138,000 na mga VaxCert out of 225,000 requests,” Caintic said in a public briefing Saturday, Sept. 25.
The VaxCertPH, which seeks to streamline all vaccination cards issued by local government units (LGUs) throughout the country, had its soft launch in National Capital Region (NCR) and Baguio City early this month.
Overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and Filipinos who will be departing from the Philippines for international travel from the said two areas are being prioritized in the initial phase of the project’s implementation.
Individuals who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 can get their digital vaccination certificates through the VaxCertPH portal.
Mobile version
The DICT official said the agency is currently developing a mobile version of the project which will be used to scan the quick response (QR) codes of the certificates.
“Malapit na namin itong ilabas din para ito mababasa yung QR na na generate (We will also release it soon so that it can read the QR codes that has been generated),” Caintic said.
“Pero yung pag-apply doon tayo sa portal na accessible naman sa mobile phones (But the application is through the portal and that is also accessible on mobile phones),” he added.
Pilot rollout expanded
The VaxCertPH recently had its pilot rollout in Region 3, Region-4A, Metro Cebu, and Davao Region where data rectification booths were established in these areas, Caintic said.
“Bukas na siya sa mga nabanggit na rehiyon (It is open in the aforementioned regions),” he said.
“Makakasigurado sila na may mapupuntahan silang mga LGUs na makakapagtulong sa kanila (Residents in these areas are ensured that they have access to LGUs that can assist them),” he added.