MANILA, Philippines — Fully-vaccinated local travelers can now visit tourist destinations without having to go through COVID-19 tests.
The Department of Tourism on Thursday said some local government units with jurisdiction over tourist destinations scrapped reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test requirements for fully-vaccinated guests.
The decision came after repeated calls from Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat who has been pushing for looser restrictions and fewer requirements in areas with high vaccination rates among locals and tourism workers.
The DOT then welcomed this move of some LGUs.
“We thank the LGUs for this development especially now that the number of tourists are slowly picking up. We hope that in the months ahead, we will achieve a hundred percent vaccination rate so we can push for a big move for tourism revival,” Puyat said.
The DOT also released a list of destinations that would implement removal of the COVID-19 swab test requirement and antigen testing.
As of October 24, the following are the areas listed by DOT:
- Cebu Province
- Lapu-Lapu City
- Catbalogan City
On the other hand, these are the areas that scrapped the COVID-19 test requirements but are requiring vaccination certificates acquired through VaxCertPH (doh.gov.ph)”
- Bohol
- Iloilo City
- Negros Occidental
Lastly, below appear the destinations that only require a vaccination card from visitors:
- Clark Freeport Zone (except areas for travelers from areas under Enhanced Community Quarantine)
- Subic Bay Freeport Zone
- Tarlac (for travelers coming from areas under ECQ and modified ECQ)
- Masbate Province
- Southern Leyte
- Tacloban City
- Maasin City
- Misamis Oriental
Meanwhile, one of the country’s top tourist destinations, Boracay Island, still requires a negative RT-PCR swab test result for all allowed tourists, including those from the National Capital Region, except for tourists within Panay Island, including Guimaras Province.
The DOT said other entry requirements for destinations that were not listed can be confirmed directly through their respective local government units.
Puyat said that the tourism agency would continue coordinating with the National Task Force Against COVID-19, the LGUs, and private sector to ensure that 100% of tourism workers would be vaccinated by the yearend.
The tourism agency is ramping up its vaccination drive nationwide.
Early this month, it completed its target of inoculating 3,109 tourism workers in A1 hotels across Pampanga, Tarlac, Clark and Subic Bay Freeport Zones, Angeles City, and Olongapo City.
The DOT has so far conducted vaccination drives in tourism destinations such as Intramuros, Boracay, Rizal, Cebu, Bohol and Camiguin, among others.