Taiwan, Philippines likely to mutually recognize COVID vaccine cards by March 8: MECO

馬尼拉經濟文化辦事處：台灣和菲律賓可能在 3 月 8 日互相承認 COVID 疫苗護照

MECO head Wilfredo Fernandez says Philippines needs tourists, encourages Taiwan to relax quarantine


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Philippine envoy to Taiwan on Sunday (March 6) said Taiwan and the Philippines will begin recognizing each other's COVID vaccination certificates by Tuesday (March 8).

Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) Chairman Wilfredo Fernandez and Taiwan's top envoy to Manila, Michael Hsu (徐佩勇) were attending an inauguration ceremony for new officers of the Taiwan Association Inc. Philippines. (TAP) in Manila. In response to reports that Taiwanese traveling to the southeast Asian country must still undergo six days and five nights of quarantine, Fernandez told CNA that Taiwan is a low-risk "green" area for COVID and that arrivals from the country should not be subject to quarantine.

However, because Taiwan is not a member of the World Health Organization (WHO), its vaccine card is not recognized by that agency and is therefore not accepted by the Philippine authorities.

Fernandez said that he is currently working to convince his government to recognize Taiwan's vaccine cards. He said that if the Taiwanese government recognizes the Philippines' vaccine certificates, "the Philippines will automatically accept yours."

Fernandez said that the Philippines needs Taiwanese businessmen to visit to "see for themselves what opportunities there are." He pointed out that the country also needs Taiwanese tourists because, before the pandemic, Taiwan was the fifth-largest source of tourists there.

The Philippine envoy stated that he and Hsu have worked hard to promote mutual recognition of vaccine cards as well as digital vaccine certificates. "As far as I know, the matter will be resolved by Tuesday (March 8)," said Fernandez.

He then added, "We also expect Taiwan to relax its quarantine measures, because even if we open our borders, Taiwanese will be hesitant to visit the Philippines." This was in reference to Taiwan's current 10-day mandatory quarantine policy for all overseas arrivals. "So the ball is actually in your hands, not the Philippines'," said Fernandez.