Traveling back to Philippines travel requirements (as of May 30)

I was supposed to write this at the end but I have a number of friends coming home from a trip and were asking if there are new requirements or what are the requirements upon arriving so I decided to write this part ahead.

When we were in Singapore, there was an announcement that as of May 30, people with 2 vaccine shots and 1 booster don’t need to show or submit an RT-PCR test or antigen test upon arrival in the Philippines! Lucky for my mom and I, we both had our booster shots already so we didn’t need to submit any additional RT-PCR test or antigen test upon arrival.

This is the memorandum regarding the new rule – https://iatf.doh.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/20220526-IATF-Resolution-168-RRD.pdf.

Here’s a quick summary of the new rule (everything’s from Rappler!)

For fully vaccinated and boosted Filipinos and foreigners arriving from abroad:

Must carry or possess any of the following acceptable proof of COVID-19 vaccination: World Health Organization International Certificate of Vaccination and Prophylaxis, VaxCertPH, national or state manual or digital vaccination certificate of the country or foreign government, other proof of vaccination permitted by the IATF
For foreigners, passports valid for six months at the time of arrival
No need for RT-PCR test result from point of origin

For fully vaccinated Filipinos and foreigners (no booster yet):

Carry or possess proof of COVID-19 vaccination (see above)
Present negative RT-PCR test taken within 48 hours or a remotely supervised or lab-based rapid antigen-negative test result administered and certified by a healthcare professional in a healthcare facility within 24 hours prior to date and time of departure from the first port of embarkation
For foreigners, passports valid for six months at the time of arrival

For unvaccinated, partially vaccinated Filipinos, or persons whose vaccination status cannot be independently validated:

Present negative RT-PCR test taken within 48 hours or a remotely supervised or lab-based rapid antigen-negative test result administered and certified by a healthcare professional in a healthcare facility within 24 hours prior to date and time of departure from the first port of embarkation
Undergo facility-based quarantine until the release of a negative RT-PCR test result. The test shall be taken on the fifth day from the date of arrival.
Home quarantine from the date of release from the facility until the 14th day from the date of arrival in the Philippines
For unvaccinated minor children, either foreign or Filipino parents should accompany the child during quarantine

Protocols for minors

Fully vaccinated persons aged 12 to 17 are also exempt from having to present a pre-departure RT-PCR test result. Unlike adults, they do not need to have had a booster shot to be exempt from the test requirement. The same applies to minors below the age of 12, regardless of their vaccination status, as long as the parents or guardians accompanying them are fully vaccinated and boosted. If their parents are not fully vaccinated or boosted, these minors will follow the protocols applicable to the parents or adults accompanying them.

If a foreign child under the age of 12 travels to the Philippines with Filipinos, they will follow the protocols applicable to the Filipino parent with them. If the foreign child is aged 12 to 17, they will follow the protocols set for unvaccinated or vaccinated adults, depending on which applies to them.

If you’re curious about a new memorandum or new rules past May 30 for those who will enter the Philippines, make sure to always check this website for updates – https://iatf.doh.gov.ph/?page_id=77.

The most recent one was their May 26 memorandum so if they posted anything after May 26th then it means that they have new “rules” for those who will enter the Philippines!

So the big question everyone is asking – “Regine what did you show the officers when you arrived in the Philippines?”

Well lucky for us, our arrival date fell under the new memorandum or ruling that if you get 2 vaccine shots and a booster you don’t need to show RT-PCR or antigen test results.

All we had to show was :

One Health Pass
Vaxcert that shows we have 2 vaccine shots and 1 booster
Boarding pass

ONE HEALTH PASS

You have to register yourself on the One Health Pass website 48 hours before your arrival in the Philippines. Here’s the link! https://www.onehealthpass.com.ph/

Once you finish filling up the form, you will see a confirmation message on the screen and you should receive an email that looks like this (photo below)! Make sure to check both your inbox and spam because my mom found hers inside her spam folder.