Immigration bureau backs use of COVID-19 passport

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Monday said it supports proposals for the use of a COVID-19 passport which will indicate that a traveler has been vaccinated against the infectious disease.

Immigration Commissioner Jaime Morente said the COVID-19 passport will speed up airport immigration processes. Current policy requires international travelers to get tested upon arrival, but Morente said this may cause long queues and overcrowding at the airports when travel volume increases.

"With the use of a COVID-19 support evidencing that a traveler was vaccinated and is free of the virus, the conduct of immigration formalities for arriving passengers would be faster and easier and people congestion at the airports would be lessened, if not avoided," the BI said in a statement.

Morente said he expects international travel to pick up by the second half of 2021, "when the COVID-19 vaccine is seen to be available in the country."

The BI also said the International Air Transport Association (IATA) has previously revealed plans to launch an IATA travel pass, described as a "global and standardized solution to validate and authenticate country regulations on COVID-19 passenger travel requirements."

The Department of Tourism earlier welcomed the idea of using COVID-19 passports, saying it may restore travel confidence while also assuring receiving countries that incoming tourists are vaccinated.

"The Department of Tourism supports the suggestion of Mr. Lance Gokongwei to come up with a global COVID-19 passport to facilitate international cross-border travel with stringent health and safety measures in place," Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said last week.

In the "best-case scenario" for the Philippines, vaccination could start within the first half of 2021, according to Health Secretary Francisco Duque III. — Nicole-Anne C. Lagrimas/RSJ, GMA News