The Safe Davao QR (DQR) Code is ready to be integrated into the national government’s proposed unification of all existing contact tracing applications in the country.
Human Resource Management Office (HRMO) head and DQR Implementation supervisor Lemuel Ortonio said they already received a communication from the Department of Information and Communications Technology in November 2020 regarding the planned centralization of the contact tracing system to the StaySafe.ph app.
The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases issued on February 26, 2021, that StaySafe.ph will be the primary contact tracing system, while the Safe, Swift, and Smart Passage (S-PaSS) travel management system will be institutionalized as the one-stop-shop application/communication for travelers.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said on Friday, March 12, that the full implementation of contact tracing application StaySafe.ph will be fully implemented in the next 10 days.
However, Ortonio said the plan is still being finalized at the national level.
“Last namo nareceive nga information (The last information we received) is that they are still finalizing the integration of all existing QR contact tracing applications nga gina-implement sa kada LGU (that is being implemented by different LGUs),” Ortonio said.
The official said the city’s system is ready for integration.
“Ready man atong DQR system, based sa atoang mga IT developers nato (According to our IT developers, the DQR system is ready for integration),” he said.
Ortonio added that the integration of the local QR system is possible by activating the Application Programming Interface (API).
According to bigcommerce.com, API “is a set of functions that allows applications to access data and interact with external software components, operating systems, or microservices.” It is an information gateway that allows the back ends of software and services to communicate with one another.
While they wait for the DQR to be integrated into the StaySafe.ph, Ortonio said the city will continue to utilize the DQR system as it is.
DQR is the city’s electronic contact tracing and travel pass platform intended to be implemented for several purposes. City and non-city residents within the territorial jurisdiction of the city are required to register and secure their own DQR. It was piloted in November last year.
He said as of now, the DQR will only work within Davao City.
Other LGUs in Davao Region have their respective QR system, which travelers must also secure.
The Department of Health-Davao Region (DOH-Davao), in a previous report, recommended a unified QR code system for contact tracing in the entire region
DOH-Davao Regional Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit Cleo Fe Tabada said in a virtual presser that it would be best if all LGUs in the region would merge their respective QR code system into a region-wide system to have a bigger scope in contact tracing.
Meanwhile, City Health Office Acting Head Dr. Ashley Lopez said in a radio interview on March 10, that the City Information Technology Center is currently processing the integration of the master list to the DQR through the Covid-19 Vaccine Information Management System-Immunization Registry (VIMS-IR) platform, introduced by the DOH and the Department of Information and Communications Technology.
Lopez said once the DQR will be integrated into the VIMS, it will be indicated if a certain person was vaccinated or not.
