HK urged to recognize BI certificate as vax record
THE Philippines is now discussing with the Hong Kong authorities to consider the Philippine Bureau of Quarantine vaccination certificate as the “recognized vaccination record” for Filipinos entering the Administrative Region.
Philippine Consulate General in Hongkong Consul Paulo Saret said “we are in the process of negotiating for the use of the Philippine Bureau of Quarantine Yellow as a “recognized vaccination record” by the Hong Kong authorities and we hope that this will be acceptable to the Hong Kong side.”
Foreign Affairs Teodoro Locsin Jr. earlier revealed that Hong Kong is not accepting the country’s vaccination cards because “they are not connected to a single source”.
Saret explained the Hong Kong authorities are not yet accepting vaccination records coming from the Philippines because the records are being issued by the different local government units.
“Hong Kong is demanding a standardized form to ensure authenticity” (of vaccination records, the Consul said.
Saret assured they are in constant consultation with Hong Kong authorities and the Department of Foreign Affairs to resolve the issue the soonest.
The Philippines is currently under Group A Specified Places (high-risk) in Hong Kong’s COVID-19 travel advisory, meaning all Filipino travelers will be subject to a 21-day quarantine period.
Under this category, all vaccinated individuals are also required to present a negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) result conducted within 72 hours before the scheduled time of departure of the aircraft on top of the “recognized vaccination record”.
The Labor Department earlier reported that Hong Kong was set to lift its travel ban on the Philippines on Aug. 9, which would allow more than 3,000 stranded overseas Filipino workers to fly to the former British colony.
