DOTr: Unvaxxed sea travelers not allowed in Manila ports
(FILE) Passengers show their vaccination cards upon entering the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 at Edsa-North Avenue Station. Niño Jesus Orbeta/Philippine Daily Inquirer
MANILA, Philippines — Sea travelers who are not vaccinated against COVID-19 will not be allowed inside ports in Metro Manila, under the “no vaccine, no ride” policy to be implemented by the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) General Manager Jay Daniel Santiago said the policy is now in a “soft implementation” stage since Thursday but the full implementation will be on Monday, Jan. 17, 2022.
Santiago said the policy applies to passengers “to, from and within the NCR (National Capital Region) including individuals residing outside NCR but who works and/or travel to the same, passing through ports under the PPA’s jurisdiction, including private ports.”
The PPA, which is an agency under the DOTr, said travelers should present physical or digital copies of local government-issued vaccine cards; vaccine certificates issued by the Health Department and any items prescribed by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF).
Santiago said the PPA is allowing unvaccinated passengers to enter ports as of Friday.
“During soft implementation, relaxed monitoring muna,” Santiago told INQUIRER.net in a Viber message.
“We check but we still allow kahit walang [even without] vaccination cards. By Monday, implementation will be stricter. Procedure checking will be at the port of embarkation. When passengers arrive in Manila, we will assume they were already checked at the port of origin/embarkation. They will no longer be checked upon disembarkation and exit at the port or Manila,” he explained.
A valid government-issued ID with a picture and address will also be asked as a supporting document.
The “no vaccine no ride policy” will also be enforced by the DOTr in trains and stations of the MRT, the LRT and the Philippine National Railways (PNR) and in public utility vehicles with routes in Metro Manila starting Monday.
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