Fully vaccinated tourists bound for Boracay must present negative COVID-19 test — mayor

Fully vaccinated individuals planning to visit Boracay Island must still present a negative COVID-19 test, acting Malay, Aklan Mayor Frolibar Bautista said Friday.

“They are still required to submit a negative RT-PCR test result even if they already have vaccination cards,” Bautista said at the Laging Handa briefing.

Bautista added the local government also plans to set up a system to detect tampered or fake vaccination cards.

On Thursday, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III said local government units (LGUs) still have the option to require negative RT-PCR test results after the COVID-19 task force recently allowed fully vaccinated individuals to only present vaccination cards.

For LGUs that will only require vaccination cards, Duque said the Department of Information and Communication Technology was working on a "digital vaccine certification."

He said the DICT committed to encode and upload 90 percent of the total vaccinated individuals by July 31. — RSJ, GMA News