MAIN PHOTO: DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat (2nd from left), together with National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr. (extreme right), Watsons employees and vaccinees.
THE Philippine government expands the national vaccination program in order to cover more age groups, as it expects more tourists to arrive in the country after the government opened the nation’s borders to fully vaccinated foreign tourists.
Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said that around 1,000 tourists are expected to arrive in the country. She also noted that even foreigners and domestic tourists can avail of free booster shots while enjoying their vacation.
“Lahat ng turista na pupunta dito [sa Boracay], foreigner o domestic, ay libre ang booster shot dito sa Watsons,” Puyat said during the launch of Resbakuna sa Botika and Resbakuna Kids in Boracay Island
“Ang maganda, pupunta lang sila dito, tapos libre pa ang booster. [Mayroon pang] sand, beach, napakasarap na pagkain at bakunado lahat ng tao,” she added.
Tourism remains as a priority in the country’s vaccination roadmap and opening the country’s borders to foreign tourists is part of efforts to revitalize not only the tourism sector but the country’s overall economy as well.
Puyat said that one of the main reasons why foreign tourists want to visit the Philippines is its high vaccination rate and eased travel requirements.
The country opened its borders to foreign tourists on Thursday after nearly two years. Travelers from visa-free countries just need to present proof of vaccination, negative RT-PCR test results taken within 48 hours prior to departure, and outbound tickets to their country of origin or next country of destination.
“Ang sinasabi ng foreigners, ang gusto nila is that madali raw mag-travel dito and they feel safe kasi they found out about the vaccination rate at nagbu-booster na tayo,” Puyat said.
“Whenever we talk to our foreign partners, lagi nilang tinatanong ang vaccination rate ng bansa. Noong nalaman nilang almost all our tourist destinations ay 100 percent na ang vaccinated, nagulat sila dahil talo pa raw natin ang ibang bansa,” she added.
Puyat also underscored the importance of the vaccination program in the national government’s efforts to revive the tourism sector.
The tourism secretary also lauded the efforts of local officials of the world-class tourist destination in fully vaccinating its population, making it a model destination that has made a significant impact on the province’s tourism industry
“Ang maganda sa Boracay, 100 percent vaccinated ang population at ang tourism workers ay walang vaccine hesitancy,” Puyat said.
For his part, National Task Force Against COVID-19 chief implementer and vaccine czar Secretary Carlito Galvez, Jr. said that Boracay can be a role model for other provinces and tourist destinations, because of its outstanding vaccination rollout and coverage.
“You now harvest the fruits of your labor, first time now that we heard na zero ang COVID-19 cases dito. Despite the movement of people, talagang nakikita natin ‘yung effect ng vaccine na it really saves lives and prevents severe [cases] and hospitalization,” Galvez said.
The government launched the Resbakuna sa Botika Program here in Boracay, in partnership with Watsons, one of the country’s leading drug store chains, to make booster shots accessible to both locals and tourists.
Through the program, the government aims to administer at least 72 million booster shots to eligible Filipinos this year.
As of February 10, the Philippines has already administered a total of 8,712,955 booster and additional doses.
(PHOTO CREDIT: Media NTF COVID-19 PH)