Senator Nancy Binay has called for the lifting of the One Health Pass (OHP) amid mounting complaints from travelers over the inconvenience of the screening system.
“Dapat i-lift na natin ang One Health Pass dahil hindi na rin ito nagiging praktikal at mas nagiging inconvenient ito para sa nakararami. Mas malaking hassle sa ating mga OFW at balikbayan dahil dagdag na screening kahit quarantine-cleared at kumpleto sila sa bakuna at boosters. From the tourism lens, we might be turning away potential guests because of this added bureaucratic layer whose effectiveness isn’t even guaranteed,” said Binay.
The chair of the Senate committee on tourism said that the Department of Tourism and other agencies should look into simplifying the processes that visitors have to undergo as the tourism industry looks to recover from the pandemic.
Foremost among this, she said, is the OHP, which the Bureau of Quarantine and Department of Transportation implement to process the mandatory health protocols and quarantine requirements of international travelers.
The senator said that overseas Filipino workers have been complaining that the process of verifying the OHP has led to long lines in the country’s airports.
She added that besides the risk of data breaches, the OHP has also been the subject of scams, with the government repeatedly issuing warnings against websites demanding payment to issue fake passes.
“Minsan, nakakatulong din naman na sumunod tayo sa trends. Other countries, even our ASEAN neighbors, are already liberalizing and rationalizing their entry processes. If they come from cities that have a high vaccination rate, there is no reason why we must be stricter, especially against other countries that have better vaccination rates than us,” said Binay.
Thailand and Vietnam have fully reopened its borders and do not require proof of vaccination or testing, while Singapore requires tourists to be fully vaccinated for at least two weeks.
Binay said that if the government still sees the need to issue the pass, it should immediately address inefficiencies and improve the accessibility and interface of the website.
The DOT reported that as of October 1, the country has tallied more than 1.62 million tourists since February.
Last year, a mere 163,879 tourists arrived, an 88.95 percent drop from the 1.48 million tourist arrivals in 2020.
Source: http://www.senate.gov.ph
