IATF-EID Resolution No. 159, s. 2022

January 27, 2022

IATF-EID RESOLUTION NO. 159, S. 2022

WHEREAS, Section 15 Article II of the 1987 Constitution states that the State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them;

WHEREAS, Section 2 (c) of Executive Order No. 168 (s. 2014) mandates the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to prevent and/or minimize the local spread of emerging infectious diseases (EID) in the country through the establishment or reinforcement of a system in screening possible patients infected with EID, contact tracing, identification of the mode of exposure to the virus, and implementation of effective quarantine and proper isolation procedures;

WHEREAS, on September 10, 2021, the President issued Proclamation No. 1218 (s. 2021) further extending the period of the State of Calamity throughout the Philippines until September 12, 2022, unless earlier lifted or extended as circumstances may warrant;

WHEREAS, the Department of Health (DOH), the University of the Philippines-Philippine Genome Center (UP-PGC), and the University of the Philippines-National Institutes of Health (UP-NIH) biosurveillance have detected B.1.1.7 (Alpha), B.1.351 (Beta), P.1 (Gamma), B.1.617 (Delta), and B.1.1.529 (Omicron) variants of SARS-CoV-2 in the Philippines.

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, as it is hereby resolved, that the IATF approves the following:

A. Upon the recommendations of the Sub-Technical Working Group on Data Analytics, the following provinces, highly urbanized cities, and independent component cities shall be escalated to Alert Level 3 beginning 28 January 2022 to 15 February 2022:

1. Region IV-B: Palawan;

2. Region X: Camiguin;

3. Region XI: Davao Occidental;

4. Region XIII (CARAGA): Dinagat Islands;

5. Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao: Tawi-Tawi and Sulu.

B. Upon the recommendations of the Task Force on COVID-19 New Variants and sub-Technical Working Group on Data Analytics, the classification of countries/territories/jurisdictions as "Green," "Yellow," and "Red" shall be temporarily suspended. Effective 01 February 2022, the entry, testing, and quarantine protocols for international arriving Filipinos and foreign nationals allowed entry into the country shall be as follows, regardless of their country of origin:

1. Fully vaccinated international arriving passengers shall be required to present a negative Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) test taken within forty-eight hours (48hrs) prior to departure from the country of origin. Upon arrival, they shall no longer be required to observe mandatory facility-based quarantine but shall self-monitor for any sign or symptom for (7) days with the first day being the date of arrival and shall be required to report to the local government unit of destination upon the manifestation of symptoms, if any.

2. International arriving passengers must have the following proofs of vaccination against COVID-19 recognized under existing IATF regulations:

a. World Health Organization International Certificates of Vaccination and Prophylaxis;

b. VaxCertPH; or

c. National/state digital certificate of the foreign government which has accepted VaxCertPH under a reciprocal arrangement unless otherwise permitted by the IATF.

3. For unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, or individuals whose vaccination status cannot be independently validated, they shall be required to present a negative RT-PCR test taken within forty-eight hours (48hrs) prior to departure from the country of origin. Additionally, they shall be required to undergo facility-based quarantine until the release of their negative RT-PCR test taken on the fifth (5th) day. After which, they shall be required to undergo home quarantine until their fourteenth (14th) day, with the date of arrival being the first day. The local government units of destination and their respective Barangay Health Emergency Response Teams are tasked to monitor those arriving passengers undergoing home quarantine.

4. Children below twelve (12) years of age who cannot be vaccinated shall follow the quarantine protocols of the parent/s or the accompanying adult/guardian travelling with them.

5. Those who are currently undergoing quarantine as of 01 February 2022 may avail of the aforementioned testing and quarantine protocols.

C. The recommendations of the Technical Working Group are approved, the specifics of which are as follows:

1. Effective 10 February 2022, fully vaccinated nationals of non-visa required countries under Executive Order No. 408 (s. 1960), as amended, shall be allowed to enter the Philippines, subject to the following conditions:

a. Holders of passports valid for at least six (6) months at the time of arrival, and with return or outbound ticket to their country of origin or next country of destination.

b. Must have the following proofs of vaccination against COVID-19 recognized under existing IATF regulations:

i. World Health Organization International Certificates of Vaccination and Prophylaxis;

ii. VaxCertPH; or

iii. National/state digital certificate of the foreign government which has accepted VaxCertPH under a reciprocal arrangement unless otherwise permitted by the IATF.

c. Children below eighteen (18) years of age are exempted from the requirement of full vaccination and providing proof of vaccination status prior to boarding.

d. Shall observe the existing testing and quarantine protocols in place for fully vaccinated international arriving passengers as stated in Section B of this Resolution in all ports of entry.

e. The list of non-visa required countries under Executive Order No. 408 (s. 1960), as amended, may be found at https://dfa.gov.ph/list-of-countries-for-21-day-visa.

f. Fully vaccinated nationals shall not be included in the arrival quota set by the Department of Transportation and its One-Stop-Shop.

2. Adopting the recommendations of the Sub-Technical Working Group on VaxCertPH, the specifics of which are as follows:

a. All vaccination sites — whether public or private — are required to submit their data to the Vaccine Information Management System within forty-eight (48) hours from the vaccination event.

b. All vaccination sites — whether public or private — especially those without any electronic vaccine administration systems are strongly encouraged to use any of the following to facilitate processing of their vaccination line list data: DICT Vaccine Administration System (DVAS), DVAS mobile, and DVAS offline.

c. All LGUs and its vaccination sites, whether public or private, are enjoined to avail of the VIMS training materials found in https://iadapt.pdrf.org.

RESOLVED FURTHER, that the Chairperson and the Co-Chairperson shall be duly authorized to sign this Resolution for and on behalf of the Inter-Agency Task Force.

APPROVED during the 159th Inter-Agency Task Force Meeting, as reflected in the minutes of the meeting, held this January 27, 2022, via video conference.

(SGD.) FRANCISCO T. DUQUE IIISecretary, Department of Health

(SGD.) KARLO ALEXEI B. NOGRALESSecretary, Office of the Cabinet Secretariat

ATTACHMENT

Certification

This is to certify that:

1. I am presently an Undersecretary of the Department of Health;

2. I am the Head of the Secretariat of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases created under Executive Order No. 168, (s. 2014) and chaired by the Department of Health (DOH);

3. The IATF Secretariat holds office in the DOH Main Office, San Lazaro Compound, Tayuman, Sta. Cruz, Manila;

4. I am the custodian of the records of the IATF, including the Minutes of Meetings and Resolutions;

1. n  In the Regular Meeting of the IATF held on 27 January 2022 via teleconference during which a quorum was present and acted throughout, IATF Resolution No. 159 was unanimously approved and adopted;

5. The foregoing resolution has been signed by Secretary Francisco T. Duque III and/or Secretary Karlo Alexei B. Nograles upon the authority of the IATF Members;

6. I am executing this Certification for whatever legitimate purpose this may serve.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature this 27th day of January 2022, Manila.

(SGD.) ATTY. CHARADE B. MERCADO-GRANDEUndersecretary of Health

n Note from the Publisher: Copied verbatim from the official document. Irregular Numerical Sequence.