Filipinos arrive at Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 1 in Pasay City. —FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines – The Bureau of Quarantine has warned travelers to the Philippines about illegitimate websites seeking payment for their electronic Arrival (eArrival) card.
BOQ deputy director Dr. Robert Salvador Jr. said this at a Laging Handa public briefing on Thursday, noting that the eArrival card should be accomplished free of charge.
“Marami pong nabibiktima ng fake websites so tandaan natin ang official po natin na website ay iyong onehealthpass.com.ph. Tandaan din po natin na wala pong bayad ang eArrival card. Kapag kayo ay ini-redirect sa ibang site at nanghingi ng bayad, automatic na fake po ito,” he said.
(Many have been victimized by fake websites so remember, our official website is onehealthpass.com.ph. Also, remember that there is no payment for the eArrival card. If you’re redirected and asked for a sum of money, that’s automatically fake.)
Salvador noted that the agency has since sought help from the cybercrime units of the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation after receiving reports on these illegitimate eArrival card websites.
“Ang problema po, kahit i-take down nila iyong mga existing na mga fake website, gumagawa sila ng panibago. Sumusubok po maka-scam ulit ng mga kababayan,” he added.
(The problem is that even if we take down the existing fake websites, they just make new ones to scam our fellow citizens again.)
The BOQ official also urged travelers bound for the Philippines to register for an eArrival card 72 hours before departing their country of origin.
“Pero doon naman po sa mga may problema na hindi makapag-register, mayroon naman po tayong dinelegate na mga space at staff na tutulong sa kanila na mag-accomplish pagdating dito sa Pilipinas,” he also noted.
(But for those who encounter problems registering, we’ve delegated spaces and staff to assist them in accomplishing this upon arrival in the Philippines.)
Salvador said fully vaccinated travelers are no longer required to present an antigen or a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (rRT-PCR) test, but those unvaccinated or partially vaccinated must undergo an antigen test 24 hours before leaving their country of origin.
He pointed out that antigen tests may also be done upon their arrival at the airports.
Salvador then detailed that about 18,000 inbound travelers to the Philippines are recorded daily, but this figure is seen to increase further.
“Pero ang kagandahan po, napakababa na ng mga umuuwi na partially vaccinated o unvaccinated. Halos wala na po,” he added.
(The good news is the number of partially vaccinated or unvaccinated individuals is low. Almost none.)
The eArrival card was previously called the One Health Pass but it was changed last October as the Department of Health said, it would help streamline required arrival documents for travels.. – with reports from Kristelle Razon, trainee