BOQ instructed to review One Health Pass due to complaints from travelers — DOH

The Department of Health (DOH) on Tuesday said it has instructed the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) to review the government’s online database One Health Pass due to complaints received from travelers.

At the press briefing, DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said this was already discussed with the Inter-Agency Task Force of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) last October 4.

Aside from the BOQ, Vergeire said the department was also coordinating with other government agencies to further streamline the process and make it more convenient for travelers.

“Gusto ko lang sabihin na aside from BOQ, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) ay kasama po natin kasama po ang Department of Tourism (DOT), dito sa mga detalyeng hinihingi natin sa One Health Pass,” she said.

(Aside from BOQ, the DOTr is helping us, along with the DOT, for the details we are asking for in the One Health Pass.)

“Tayo ay nag instruct sa BOQ, sa DOT, sa Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) para magmeet po and they have a meeting this Thursday so that we can further streamline the process mapaikli mas maging convenient sa ating mga kababayan at sa mga pumapasok sa ating bansa itong One Health Pass. So after that meeting, we will be providing updates to all of you,” she added.

(We have instructed the BOQ, DOT, and DICT to meet and they have a meeting this Thursday so that we can further streamline the process to make it shorter and more convenient for our fellow Filipinos and those entering in our country, this One Health Pass. So after that meeting we will be providing updates to all of you.)

Senator Nancy Binay also called for the lifting of the One Health Pass due to the complaints from travelers over the “inconvenience of the screening system.”

Binay then called on the DOT and other agencies to look into simplifying the processes that travelers have to undergo.

She said the overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) have also been complaining that the process of verifying the One Health Pass has led to long queues in the country’s airports.

She said the government’s online database for arriving travelers has also been the subject of scams, with the government repeatedly issuing warnings against websites demanding payment to issue fake passes.

Meanwhile, Vergeire said the One Health Pass was implemented to be able to have a centralized database for all travelers going to or inside the country.

“This is very important for us for surveillance purposes dahil dito natin nakikita at natatrack ang ating mga pasahero kung sakaling magkakasakit sila, contact tracing efforts also. But also we recognize the fact yung mga issues natin. Unang una nung ating nireview ang nilalaman ng One Health Pass ang dami pong detalye na hinihingi sa ating mga pasahero. And I think isa yun sa inconvenient para sa ating mga pasahero,” she said.

(This is very important for us for surveillance purposes because this is where we can see and track our passengers in case they get sick and contact tracing efforts as well. But we also recognize our issues here. First of all, when we reviewed the content of the One Health Pass, there were many details required from our passengers. And I think that is one of the inconveniences for our passengers.)

“Bukod sa pagoonline ng ating mga kababayan o kaya mga pasahero na papunta sa Pilipinas, nagvavalidate pa ang ating BOQ pagdating sa airport which have caused a long queue in our airports. So we already have instructed the BOQ that iayos lang yung pagpapatupad hindi na kailangan vinavalidate pa pagdating sa airport,” she added.

(Apart from the online database of our passengers going to the Philippines, our BOQ is still validating them upon arrival at the airport which has caused a long queue in our airports. So we have already instructed the BOQ that the implementation will be fixed, there is no need to validate it upon arrival at the airport.)

More than 1.6 million international travelers have arrived in the Philippines since it reopened leisure travel in February this year, according to DOT Secretary Christina Frasco.

Frasco earlier said the county has welcomed a total of 1,664,550 international arrivals as of October 5. This was an increase from the 163,879 international tourist arrivals in pandemic-hit 2021. — RSJ, GMA News