Vaccine passes and eased restrictions due to widespread vaccination will give Filipinos greater mobility that will help revive economic activities, government officials said.
Secretary Ramon Lopez of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will look into a proposal for the use of vaccine passes in expanding the age groups allowed to go out.
Lopez said the use of vaccine pass for those aged above 65 who have been fully vaccinated and have developed antibodies within specified timeframe will allow them to enter restaurants and other retail establishments.
Lopez said the proposal from restaurant groups will have to be discussed carefully by the vaccine experts.
Separately on Saturday, presidential adviser on entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion said vaccine passes – documentation or proof of a person’s vaccination status – can let restaurants accommodate up to 80 percent of dine-in customers that have been vaccinated.
Concepcion said vaccine passes can also boost domestic tourism because the vaccinated do not need to undergo PCR tests.
Concepcion believes that vaccine passes would make it possible to safely open up businesses that commonly operate in enclosed or partly enclosed spaces, such as spas, grooming salons, health clubs, airlines, public transportation, shopping malls, even museums and performance venues, and especially restaurants, where people need to take off their masks.
On May 14, Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said the easing of restrictions on travel within NCR Plus will allow the Department of Tourism (DOT) to implement
the Point-to-Point (P2P) Air Travel for Leisure Purposes and the Staycation program.
DOT said this means more tourism workers will go back to work, and economic activities will continue
Puyat said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) resolution Resolution No. 115-A placing Metro Manila, Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna, and Cavite under general community quarantine (GCQ) with heightened restrictions from May 15 to 30, 2021 will allow the agency to roll out these specialized markets subject to the observance of minimum public health standards.
Under DOT Administrative Order No. 2021-003, P2P Air Travel is allowed from the NCR Plus Area to a resort in an area under GCQ or modified GCQ provided, that such travel must be undertaken through a chartered flight, which may involve short, private transfers by land or sea. Only accommodation establishments that have been granted a certificate of authority to operate for point-to-point travel (CAO-P2P) may accept guests from NCR Plus.
Staycation with age restrictions is allowed for accommodation establishments in areas under GCQ that have been granted a CAO for Staycation.
Under the IATF-EID Resolution, outdoor tourist attractions can now open at 30 percent capacity with strict adherence to minimum public health standards. Indoor dine-in services can operate at 20 percent of venue or seating capacity, while outdoor or al fresco dining can open at 50 percent of venue or seating capacity.
“We are taking every little opening possible under the current quarantine condition. Every step, big or small, will support our tourism workforce and sustain our industry,” Puyat said.
