Quarantine bureau hit for paid vaccination cards

More than 30 congressmen want an official inquiry into the contract of the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) with fintech firm PisoPay over the collection of P370 fee for the issuance of vaccination cards. In filing House Resolution No. 2198, 32 lawmakers, led by Rep. Sharon Garin, said the “issuance, amendment or replacement” of the vaccine card should be free of charge under the law. But the BOQ partnered with PisoPay to collect P370 for the issuance of vaccination cards. They pointed out that the fintech firm, a company incorporated in 2017 with license as a remittance agent, was not wholly owned by Filipinos. Anyone who wants to get a yellow card will have to pay P370, of which P300 is considered a documentary fee while P70 is for the convenience fee. —NESTOR CORRALES