The Philippines will further simplify the entry process? Is it possible to cancel the declaration of the health code for entry into the Philippines?

According to Philippine media reports, on October 10, Philippine senators called for the cancellation of One Health Pass (OHP) as more and more passengers complained about the inconvenience caused by complying with the screening system.

Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) have also been complaining that the process of verifying OHP has led to long queues at the country's airports.

"We should cancel the OHP because it is no longer practical and it is becoming more and more inconvenient for many people. This is just extra trouble for our OFW, our overseas Filipino workers and returning Filipinos are quarantined because of extra screening, even though they have been quarantined and have been vaccinated with booster shots."

The head of the Senate Tourism Committee also said the Department of Tourism (DOT) and other agencies should consider streamlining the entry process for tourists so that the tourism industry can quickly recover from the negative effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In addition to the risk of data leakage, she pointed out that OHP is also the target of fraudsters, and the government has repeatedly issued warnings to websites that require payment of fake passes.

The senator said it was time for the Philippines to follow the trend of other countries, noting that even neighbors in the ASEAN region are already opening and rationalizing entry procedures at their ports.

"If they come from cities with high vaccination rates, we have no reason to be so strict, especially for other countries with higher vaccination rates than ours."

She pointed out that Thailand and Vietnam have completely reopened their borders and do not require vaccination or test certificates, while Singapore requires tourists to be fully vaccinated within at least two weeks.

If the government still considers it necessary to issue passes, she said the inefficiency should be addressed immediately and the accessibility and interface of the website improved.