[UPDATED] Malaysians held in Manila after Philippines rejects MySejahtera as proof of vaccination

[ UPDATE 14/02/2022 22:00 ] Wisma Putra has updated all seven Malaysians held at Manila airport due to vaccination cert recognition issues have been released. Wisma Putra has confirmed there were only seven Malaysians, not 13 as reported by the media. The Philippines has updated its protocols which now recognises Malaysia’s vaccine certificate.

===

Thirteen Malaysians are currently stranded at Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport after the Philippines authorities refused to recognise their Malaysian digital COVID-19 vaccination credentials.

The 13 Malaysians were part of a group totalling 15 people that travelled from Kuala Lumpur yesterday, The Star reported last night. 

They were refused entry into the republic as they were told the Malaysian digital vaccine certificate in the MySejahtera app was not an acceptable proof of vaccination.

They told the Malaysian newspaper that their passports were confiscated and they were told that they will be deported on Tuesday.

“As there are no hotels available, we are being made to sleep on benches or the floor,” one of the affected travellers was quoted saying.

“Passengers that were on the flight from the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) but were vaccinated in Singapore or the United Kingdom were granted access to the country but those vaccinated in Malaysia have been denied entry,” the unnamed traveller added.

The travellers were told by the Philippine immigration authorities that they needed to either have been vaccinated in another country such as Singapore or possess the World Health Organization’s (WHO) International Certificate of Vaccination.

The group of 15 travellers, comprising the 13 Malaysians and two of another undisclosed nationality, had reportedly intended to travel to the Philippines for business, personal and humanitarian reasons following the republic’s border re-opening on February 10 to fully vaccinated travellers.

According to The Star, the Malaysian ambassador to the Philippines had personally met the stranded passengers at the airport and was working on an appeal for vaccination reciprocity but had yet to receive a response from the Philippines Foreign Affairs Agency.

“They tried their best to negotiate with immigration, together with the Malaysia Airlines team, but have been unsuccessful and now all the Malaysians are stranded,” one of the anonymous travellers told the daily.

“We are feeling frustrated at not being allowed into the country. We worry most about being deported. We feel that if we are deported, it would be a huge disappointment and a major setback having travelled this far.

“We pray that the Malaysian government can support us in gaining entry into the Philippines,” the traveller added. —  Malay Mail

Related reading

• Malaysia in talks with Singapore and several other countries to accept MySejahtera as vaccine passport
• Here’s how to export and print your COVID-19 vaccine certificate on MySejahtera
• Is your MySejahtera “MySJ Trace” showing zero interactions? Here’s how to fix it
• Fully vaccinated against COVID-19 but no digital certificate in MySejahtera? Here’s how to fix it