DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio said the city government is putting on hold the provision of the Alert Level 3 which only allows fully vaccinated individuals in establishment.
Duterte-Carpio revealed on Monday, October 25, that the city will not adopt the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases Resolution No. 144-D, which allows establishments or activities to operate at a maximum of 30 percent indoor venue capacity but for fully vaccinated individuals only.
The mayor said this is because the vaccination cards could be faked, considering it has no verification element.
“We will put that on hold. Why, kay ang atoang vaccine card dali ra siya kaayo ma-peke (because vaccine cards can be easily faked). If we implement that karon, mapugos napud ang mga tao og pameke sa ilang (now, people might be forced to create falsified) vaccine card," Duterte-Carpio said in an interview on 87.5 FM Davao City Disaster Radio.
She added, "Murag (It is like) the policy of the government that will push people to do illegal things."
The mayor said this would prompt the local government to intensify its effort against fake Covid-19 documents, including the reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test result.
She also said the city is not keen on implementing the IATF provision for now considering that not everyone is fully vaccinated.
According to the Davao City Vaccination Cluster as of October 6, the city government reported that 770,925 individuals have received the first dose and 646,248 the second dose of the vaccines or 53.85 percent of the target herd immunity.
"Giingnan nako sila (I told them) [Covid-19 Task Force] that we will put that on hold because kay dili man sala sa mga tao na (it is not their fault if) we do not have an online vaccine database," Duterte-Carpio said.
She added that the VaxCertPH program has not yet incorporated all the Covid-19 vaccination data in the city.
Duterte-Carpio said the vaccination card "is only a reminder" to track their vaccination record, but it cannot be used to verify vaccination status.”
VaxCertPH is a portal for the issuance of Covid-19 vaccination certificates to fully inoculated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and Filipinos going abroad.
The platform can be used for international and domestic travels in line with the guidelines of the World Health Organization (WHO) on digital documentation of Covid-19 certificates.
Meanwhile, the IATF resolution 144-D applies for venues of meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions (MICE); permitted venues for social events such as parties, wedding receptions, engagement parties, wedding anniversaries, debut and birthday parties, family reunions, and bridal or baby showers; visitor or tourist attractions such as libraries, archives, museums, galleries, exhibits, parks, plazas, public gardens, scenic viewpoints or overlooks, and the like.
While this also applies in dine-in services in food preparation establishments such as kiosks, commissaries, restaurants, and eateries, subject to DTI sector-specific protocols; personal care establishments such as barbershops, hair spas, hair salons, and nail spas, and those offering aesthetic/cosmetic services or procedures, make-up services, salons, spas, reflexology, and other similar procedures including home service options, are also allowed subject to the sector-specific protocols of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Davao City is currently under Alert Level 3 until October 31, 2021. (RGL)