The government's pandemic task force has approved the proposal to accept and recognize the Covid-19 vaccine certificates of Lao PDR and Rwanda as sufficient proof of vaccination for several purposes, including entry to the country.
Communications Secretary Martin Andanar announced this as the country faces the threat of a surge next month and the recent confirmation of the Omicron subvariant BA.2.12 entering the Philippines.
In a statement, Andanar said that the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases is now recognizing or accepting as proof of vaccination the national/state COVID-19 vaccination certificates of the said two countries.
He added that the vaccination certificates of Lao PDR and Rwanda are now accepted and recognized as proofs of vaccination required for purposes of arrival quarantine protocols as well as for interzonal/intrazonal movement.
"This is in addition to other countries/territories/jurisdictions whose proofs of vaccination the IATF has already approved for recognition in the Philippines," he said.
The acting Palace spokesman added that the recent decision is also without prejudice to such other proofs of vaccination approved by the IATF for all inbound travelers.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Quarantine, the Department of Transportation - One-Stop-Shop, and the Bureau of Immigration are directed to recognize only the proofs of vaccination thus approved by the IATF.
With the addition of Lao PDR and Rwanda, the Philippines now recognizes the vaccination certificates of 79 countries, territories, and jurisdictions as sufficient proof of vaccination.
#PandemicAdvisory: Find out which countries/territories have vaccine certificates that are accepted in the Philippines and accept VaxCertPh as proof of Covid-19 vaccination status. For more VaxCert information for travelers, visit https://t.co/zHIBiwfNpc pic.twitter.com/wB82rnFbpa
— DFA Philippines (@DFAPHL) April 9, 2022
The country started to accept fully vaccinated foreign tourists in February this year.