PH okays COVID vax certificate from 4 more countries
The government's pandemic task force approved on Thursday, Feb. 10, the proposal to accept COVID-19 vaccine certificates from Brazil, Israel, South Korea, and Timor Leste as proof of inoculation.

The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on Emerging Infectious Diseases released Resolution 160-D to recognize the national vaccination certificates from these countries as recommended by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).
In a Laging Handa briefing on Thursday, Cabinet Secretary and acting presidential spokesperson Karlo Nograles said the move is for purposes of arrival quarantine protocols, as well as interzonal/intrazonal movement
"Kaugnay into, inaatasan ang Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ), Department of Transportation (DOTr), at ang Bureau of Immigration (BI) na kilalanin ang proofs of vaccination ng apat na bansa na ito (With this, the BOQ, DOTr, and BI are directed to recognize the proof of vaccination of these countries)," Nograles said.
The IATF announced last week that it will start to accept vaccination certificates from Slovenia, Bahrain, Qatar, Switzerland, and Hong Kong SAR.
The Philippines has allowed the entry of fully vaccinated tourists from 157 visa-free countries starting Feb. 10 -- a proposal of the Department of Tourism that was also approved by the IATF.
The task force also scrapped the color-coded classification system of countries based on their COVID-19 status to facilitate the recovery of the heavily impacted industry.
Meanwhile, Nograles is optimistic that opening the country's borders to international tourists, coupled with the strict enforcement of health protocols, will help revive the tourism industry and the economy.
"Mapapabuti natin ang economic growth and development ng ating bansa dahil mapapabangon muli natin ang ating tourism industry and all the other industries dependent on tourism (Our economy will improve because the country's tourism industry will be revived, along with all the other industries connected to it)," he added.
The IATF co-chairman also vowed to monitor that health and safety protocols are in place to ensure that the entry of foreign tourists will not cause another surge in the country's COVID-19 cases.