RapidPass system at COVID-19 checkpoints start April 6, says Nograles

The government will start on April 6 the implementation of a virtual identification system aimed at ensuring easier passage  through checkpoints for health personnel and those working in essential industries.

This was announced by Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles in a virtual press briefing on Friday with other government officials and the developers of the RapidPass System.

According to Nograles, the RapidPass can be requested by frontliners or authorized personnel through the website RapidPass.ph, either on a desktop or a mobile device.

“A unique and secure QR code and control number will be granted to each authorized person or vehicle. The QR code can be printed and placed on the dashboard of one's vehicle, or shown in the person's smartphone,” Nograles said.

Those without smartphones or printers can show the control number and a valid ID to authorities manning checkpoints, Nograles said.

Securing a RapidPass is not a requirement for now, Nograles said, even as he guaranteed that the system will limit contact between exempted individuals and personnel manning checkpoints.

“Depending on how the IATF will assess the whole system, if the system is already in place, then maybe we can shift to a mandatory use of the RapidPass,” he said.

Nograles is the spokesperson of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), the government body supervising efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).

It was the Department of Science and Technology that commissioned the creation of RapidPass to Developers Connect, Inc. (DEVCON), a non-profit organization composed of Filipino developers and IT professionals.

President Rodrigo Duterte imposed strict quarantine measures in Luzon to contain the spread of the deadly virus, including sweeping restrictions on travel and mass gatherings as well as closure of schools and most businesses. -NB, GMA News