Despite the progress in the vaccination programs across the country, there is no unified vaccination card as each city or province has its own version.

To address the lack of uniformity in certificates that indicate a person's vaccination status, the Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Interior and Local Government (DILG) came together to form the VaxCertPH, a program that will provide Filipinos with a digital vaccine certificate verified as authentic by their respective LGU's database. The mobile app and portal for the issuance of digital vaccination certificates were developed by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT).

To help with its implementation, local retail giant SM Supermalls has inked a deal with the DOH and the DILG to become the first official venue partner of VAXCertPH during its launch in SM City Clark last October 4.

Present during the Memorandum of Agreement signing were SM Supermalls President Steven T. Tan; Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque; Health Secretary Francisco Duque; National Task Force (NTF) against COVID-19 Chief Implementer and Vaccine Czar Sec. Carlito Galvez, Jr.; NTF DCI Testing czar Sec. Vince Dizon; DILG Usec. Jonathan Malaya; DICT Usec. Manny Caintic; MMDA Chairman Benhur Abalos, Angeles City Mayor Carmelo Lazatin, Jr.; and, Mabalacat City Mayor Crisostomo Garbo.

''The VAXCertPH initiative will be very helpful to our fellow Filipinos, especially the OFWs and international travelers, as this certification can be used when going abroad. We at SM are pleased to be of service in making the vaccine certification records more accessible to Filipinos nationwide,'' said Tan during his opening remarks.

Under the partnership, SM is set to provide an area within its 76 malls nationwide dedicated to the VAXCertPH booths which will be manned by LGU representatives. It will also be assisting the government agencies in informing the general public of the VAXCertPH initiative through its marketing materials, online announcements, and traditional media.

''We are proud to be the country's single biggest vaccination center, as well as a venue for COMELEC registration, a safe place where you can get your National ID, passports, and business permits. We also provide drive-through testing centers in over 10 of our malls across the country. As a good citizen, we are always – as our supermarkets say – Happy To Serve,'' Tan furthered.

To date, SM has helped administer over four million doses of vaccines in its multi-mall vaccination drive. The government has reported that over 21 million persons have so far been fully vaccinated in the country.

For more information about the VAXCertPH initiative, check out SM's website or follow @smsupermalls on all social media accounts.