Makati vax cards can’t be faked – Binay

MANILA, Philippines — Makati Mayor Abby Binay assured the public yesterday that the vaccination cards issued by the city government have security features to avoid being falsified.

Binay made the statement amid the possibility that fraudsters might take advantage of the eased travel restrictions for fully vaccinated people by presenting fake vaccination cards.

She said the COVID-19 vaccination card issued by the local government contains a watermark that could be seen through ultraviolet light. The card also has a quick response or QR code.

“We are developing a system for fully vaccinated residents scheduled to leave the country. They can download forms from our COVID-19 vaccination website certifying that they have completed their two vaccine shots,” Binay said.

She said local government units have created their own versions of the COVID-19 vaccination card, which could be confusing for other LGUs admitting travelers in their areas.

The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases earlier said fully vaccinated persons no longer need to present a negative RT-PCR test result if they want to travel within the country.

Binay said verifying vaccination cards could be easier if the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) fulfilled its plan of generating a centralized vaccination record system.

“Ang plano ng DICT, hanggang ngayon plano pa rin. Dapat bago nag-umpisa ang vaccine rollout centralized na ang vaccination cards, pero hindi nangyari iyon,” she said.