Beginning Monday, the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) is strictly checking for vaccination cards among persons entering the Subic Bay Freeport to prevent further transmission of Covid-19.
SBMA chair and administrator Wilma Eisma said the vaccination card requirement was just one of the stricter measures implemented by the Subic agency after the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases placed Olongapo City, along with Zambales, Bataan, and 11 other areas in the country, under Alert Level 3 late last week.
Under the new SBMA guidelines, interzonal travel and intrazonal movement are allowed in Subic upon presentation of vaccination certificate showing completed doses.
Unvaccinated persons would have to show negative RT-PCR test results taken with 24 hours prior to arrival in Subic, Eisma said.
Subic, which boasted of zero Covid-19 cases among its residents until Christmas day, had reported a total of 36 active cases just after the holidays.
“The rate of increase—36 cases in just two weeks—is quite alarming, so in consonance with IATF resolutions, we have put in place stricter border controls and prohibited certain activities that could further spread the virus,” Eisma said on Monday.
“I have ordered our law enforcement officers to be thorough in checking for vaccination cards at the gates because we cannot afford another lockdown that would curtail business and industry in Subic. We have to be strict because we have to keep the local economy running, too,” she added.
