The proposal to ease restrictions on the domestic air travel of vaccinated individuals, to boost tourism, got the support of Provincial Inter-Agency Task Force action officer, Atty. Rayfrando Diaz.
Diaz, also the provincial administrator, said the province is ready for it, stressing that they have registered a substantial number of vaccinees in their Monitoring Information System (MIS), who got the shots against the coronavirus in the rollout implemented by the Provincial Health Office and various local government units.
He added that they already issued identification cards that could be validated through scanning in the airport to determine the authenticity of the embedded data.
! “We are ready for that,” Diaz said, stressing that the Philippine Airlines even suggested “vaccinated flights” that do not require passengers to present RT-PCR results, prior or upon arrival in the destination LGU.
“It’s a welcome development. I don’t see anything wrong with it as long as their vaccination cards are all authenticated,” he said.
Diaz said the vaccination identification cards with QR codes can now be downloaded by LGUs from the MIS of the provincial government of Negros Occidental, for distribution to their fully-vaccinated residents.
Presidential Adviser for Entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion reported earlier that governors all over the country are now open to easing travel restrictions on domestic air travel for fully-vaccinated individuals to boost tourism activities.
Aside from Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and AirAsia Philippines are also calling on the national government to reduce the number of quarantine days for international travel and remove the RT-PCR test requirement for fully-vaccinated individuals.
Concepcion said local chief executives are now open to the idea of allowing airlines to fly vaccinated passengers without RT-PCR tests, while those who remain unvaccinated will still be required to undergo swabbing prior being allowed to travel.
Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Sept. 28 that tourism in the province has been badly affected by the pandemic. – GB
