ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines — A “no vaccination, no entry” policy will be strictly imposed inside the international airport here for all its employees, concessioners and passengers starting Monday next week following the surge of the coronavirus disease.
The order prohibiting the unvaccinated people from entering the facility operated by the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) was contained in a memorandum issued on January 11 by Engr. Jaime Vicente Santos, officer-in-charge of ZIA.
The memorandum indicated the National Inter-Agency Task Force (NIATF) Resolution no. 148-B, particularly paragraphs A, B and G which stipulate that the employers of public and private establishments shall require their employees to be vaccinated while those unvaccinated will undergo RT-PCR test regularly on their expense.
The memorandum cited the same resolution in order to ensure the continuous operations of public transportations.
Santos’ memorandum also included the circular issued last Wednesday by CAAP director Jim Sydiongco strictly implementing the “no vaccination, no entry” policy. It also directed the air operators to require their crew members and passengers to present similar documents before boarding the plane.
However, the CAAP memorandum provides exceptions for individuals with medical conditions that prevent full COVID-19 vaccination based on signed medical certificates with name and contact details of the licensed physician. However, they are still required to present the RT-PCR test result taken within the last 48 hours before entry.
“On the strength of these issuances, the management shall start to implement these measures on January 17, 2022. Therefore, the undersigned hereby encourages those who are still unvaccinated to take their vaccine shots as soon as possible,” Santos stated in his memorandum.
The local IATF will require a negative RT-PCR or Rapid Antigen Test for all inbound travelers regardless of vaccination status and the alert level of the areas where they come from due to the nationwide surge of COVID-19 driven by the Omicron variant starting January 16.
The RT-PCR tests should be within 120 hours from the day of collection of specimens while the Rapid Antigen Test should be within 24 hours and taken from a DOH-accredited facility.