Foreign Secretary Teodoro Locsin, Jr. on Wednesday said he would formally ask Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam for her government to recognize the Philippines’ COVID-19 vaccination cards, following concerns from Filipino migrant workers.
“I’ll ask Carrie Lam formally why not. I have always been supportive of her superb management of Hong Kong,” Locsin said.
The Philippines’ top diplomat earlier confirmed that vaccination cards from the Philippines are not being accepted by Hong Kong because they do not come from a single source.
“Our vaccination cards are not accepted in Hong Kong because they are not connected to a single source. Poor OFWs going to their jobs in Hong Kong even if jabbed,” Locsin said on Tuesday.
On Monday, the Department of Foreign Affairs said it was still being determined if Hong Kong would recognize the yellow vaccination card being issued by the Philippine Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) for travelers.
Hong Kong still requires a quarantine period for inbound travelers.
This means that the deployment of nearly 3,000 overseas Filipino workers would be put on hold until the Philippine government rolls out the issuance of vaccination cards to those fully-inoculated, including OFWs.
Reports showed that the Hong Kong government has already lifted the ban provided that returning OFWs can present a “recognized” vaccination card upon arrival in Hong Kong.
The Philippine government is also seeking clarification from Hong Kong authorities on the actual number of quarantine days that a fully vaccinated OFW will have to go through. The Hong Kong International Airport website indicates that an arriving passenger will be subject to a 21-day quarantine period.
Nonetheless, Locsin expressed optimism that DICT Secretary Gregorio Honasan would “get the job done right” in issuing vaccination certificates to OFWs who were not able to return to their work abroad due to global travel restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“(Secretary) Honasan’s DICT will get the job done right. I know this guy for a long time, not in the biblical sense; we fought each other as friends,” he added.
Only less than 50 percent of the more than 220,000 OFWs in Hong Kong have so far been inoculated.