OneHealth Pass replaced with eArrival Card for travelers to the PHL

All incoming travelers to the Philippines are now required to secure an electronic arrival card to enter the country, instead of the OneHealthPass.

According to the Department of Health, the eArrival card was introduced in response to travelers’ complaints about the amount of time needed to complete the OHP.

“Now, to ease this restriction on One Health Pass, this requirement made by eArrival Card. There is very little data in place, there is no more required requirements,” DoH officer-in-charge Ma Rosario Vergeire said on Tuesday.

(In order to ease this restriction with the One Health Pass, this requirement has been replaced by the eArrival Card. Only a little information needs to be put in, there are no more additional requirements.)

Vergeire also said those who fail to upload the new website for accessing the eArrival card could do so upon arrival at Ninoy Aquino International Airport, where dedicated lanes have been assigned for those who need help accessing the portal.

But in a separate statement, the DOH said pre-registration on the e-arrival platform will be mandatory starting Nov. 1 this year.

All travelers, both Filipinos and foreigners, can fill out the eArrival Card within 72 hours prior to departure, and only their travel details, profile and health declarations will be asked.

“After registration, a QR code is then generated as a ‘scan and go’ mechanism to reduce processing time at points of entry,” the DOH added.

The eArrival Card is free of charge for all travelers and may be temporarily accessed through the official website onehealthpass.com.ph pending the launch of the new platform.

“Through the eArrival Card, we hope to reduce delays and eliminate inconvenience for our travelers. We likewise aim to support the tourism sector in the country while ensuring the health and safety of both foreign and Filipino travelers,” Vergeire said.

The move, which was approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force on the government’s pandemic response, came following a call from Senator Nancy Binay to scrap the health pass, saying it amounts to requiring inbound travelers to undergo a second screening even if they are fully vaccinated.

Binay said the “added bureaucratic layer whose effectiveness isn’t even guaranteed” might be turning away potential tourists.

Source: The SUN HK : OneHealth Pass replaced with eArrival Card for travelers to the PHL (sunwebhk.com)