TEENAGERS who want to travel to Boracay Island with their families will have to be vaccinated first.
“Yes, they have to be vaccinated [before traveling to Boracay],” clarified Aklan Gov. Florencio Miraflores to the BusinessMirror, after issuing Executive Order No. 028 on November 13, which said, “Effective November 16, 2021, Only Fully Vaccinated Individuals are allowed to enter Boracay Island.”
He added, “Only minors 12 years old and below are allowed without RT-PCR/vaccination certificates as long as accompanied by parent/guardian.” He said he would release a new advisory within the day, Monday.
Miraflores’s confusing EO, posted on his Facebook page on November 13, reaped comments and questions from netizens who wanted to know if they could bring their children. No one from his office responded to the inquiries, prompting the Department of Tourism (DOT) to seek clarification on the matter.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said, “Children will be allowed to enter Boracay, as long as they have a negative RT-PCR test result.” While she wasn’t able to personally speak with Miraflores, she told this paper, “According to the province [governor’s staff], it should be interpreted, ‘if unvaxxed, negative RT-PCR is required.’”
More destinations ease travel requirements
Meanwhile, more leisure destinations have eased their entry requirements for visitors, kickstarting a real recovery in the domestic tourism sector.
In lieu of RT-PCR tests to check for the Covid-19 virus, vaccination cards are now accepted in the following destinations as of November 15: Tarlac, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Camiguin, Batangas, Oriental Mindoro, Masbate, Camarines Norte, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Bohol, Southern Leyte, Zamboanga del Sur, Zamboanga Sibugay, Misamis Oriental, Bulacan, Cebu Province along with Cebu City and Mandaue, San Vicente in Palawan, Naga City, Baguio City, the Clark Freeport Zone, the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Dingalan in Aurora, Leyte cities such as Ormoc and Maasin City, Calbayog City in Samar, and Mati in Davao Oriental.
“With the lifting of the testing requirements for fully vaccinated visitors to these destinations, travel has become more affordable and accessible for domestic tourists, especially with coming holiday season,” said Romulo Puyat in a news statement over the weekend.
Protect industry’s gains
Guimaras Island will also start accepting vaccination cards in lieu of RT-PCR tests from visitors, starting November 16. (Visit https://bit.ly/3CckQlLfor updates on travel requirements in leisure destinations.)
The DOT chief also reminded tourists to observe minimum health and safety protocols when traveling. “As we expect more tourists going to Boracay Island, and other destinations that have eased travel requirements for fully vaccinated individuals in the coming weeks, we continue to remind travelers to observe minimum health and safety protocols when visiting the spots.”
Romulo Puyat also urged tourism stakeholders not to be complacent despite the easing of domestic travel requirements, to prevent Covid-19 cases from increasing. “Seeing how the reopening of tourism all over the country is helping Filipinos return to their jobs, we cannot afford a new surge of Covid-19 infections and a return to the restrictions imposed by a stricter quarantine. Let us do our individual parts to ensure that there will be no outbreaks in our destinations,” she stressed.
Per Miraflores’s EO 028, other documents required by Aklan for those planning to travel to Boracay are: 1. Screenshot of the Online Health Declaration Card (OHDC) Confirmation page; 2. Proof of identification with Philippine residency; 3. Copy of confirmed booking slip from a DOT-accredited resort or hotel; 4. Roundtrip flight details (via Caticlan); 5. Proof of vaccination such as VaxCertPH from the Department of Health, vaccination card issued by local government unit with verifiable QR code, or a certificate from vaccination center.
“In their absence,” the memo went on, “Negative RT-PCR result with date of extraction 72 hours to date of travel.”