Iloilo City eases protocols for fully vaccinated travelers

Inbound travel to Iloilo City will now be easier as the city government allows fully vaccinated individuals to enter the metro in lieu of the reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test.

In Executive Order (E.O.) No. 132 issued by Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas on Nov 2, 2021, travelers who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 will no longer be required to submit the negative RT-PCR test and undergo the mandatory quarantine.

The easing of protocols will be applicable to returning Overseas Filipino Workers (ROFs), authorized persons outside residence (APORs), and returning Iloilo City residents.

“Individuals who are fully vaccinated are no longer mandated to submit themselves to RT-PCR testing prior and upon arrival,” according to EO 132.

Instead, ROFs, APORs, and returning residents shall apply for a travel pass through the SPass System and may submit their vaccination card and duly issued certification from the city, municipal, or provincial health office to prove that the incoming traveler is fully vaccinated.

The vaccination certificate may also be obtained through vaxcert.doh.gov.ph. Fully vaccinated individuals will likewise be exempt from the mandatory quarantine requirement.

But those who wish to undergo RT-PCR test can do so for free at the Uswag Molecular Laboratory and La Paz Plaza gym.

Meanwhile, minors aged five years old to 17 years old will be mandated to undergo an RT-PCR test at the La Paz Plaza gym or any testing center of their choice on their third day of arrival in Iloilo City.

For travelers who are partially vaccinated and unvaccinated, a negative swab test within 72 hours prior to travel will still be required. (ERS)