Effective this Monday, December 07, Valenzuela City’s ValTrace App and Pasig City’s PasigPass QR codes can now be used to enter establishments in both cities – aiming to unify digital contact tracing solutions between the two local governments.

In an era where going through another health crisis is a national concern, the City Governments of Pasig and Valenzuela work hand in hand in streamlining solutions to help stop the spread of COVID-19, interconnecting systems and even best practices to ensure contact tracing efforts and local government solutions do not go into waste.

The “No QR Code, No Entry” mentality has been a way of life for Valenzuelanos when entering establishments within the City.  Contact tracing forms are considered a “thing of the past” as the use of QR codes proved to be more convenient, faster, and safer. Pasig City is now starting to implement this initiative, seeing the practice of Valenzuela to be beneficial in effective contact tracing.  

“Napatunayan natin dito sa Valenzuela na mayroon naman palang efficient, mabilis, safe at kumbiniyente na paraan ang contact tracing. Hindi na natin kailangang ma-hassle at hindi na rin natin kailangang matakot sa paggamit ng ating data sa maling paraan,” Mayor REX Gatchalian said during the Signing of the Interconnectivity Agreement today, December 04.

The ongoing battle of local governments against COVID-19, now experiencing nine (9) months of community quarantine, has been a repository of “shared practices and solutions” between local governments. True for both Pasig City and Valenzuela City, the two (2) local governments now enter into a Data Sharing Agreement and Memorandum of Agreement in using QR codes for the proper monitoring and contact tracing of COVID-19 patients between the cities.

“May good news kami sa inyo na handog ng lokal na pamahalaan ng Valenzuela at ng lokal na pamahalaan ng Pasig. Sa pamumuno ni Mayor Vico Sotto, nag-ugnayan ang dalawang lokal na pamahalaan kung saan ili-link natin ang ating dalawang sistema. So ibig sabihin, yung QR code mo ng ValTrace, magagamit mo na sa establisyimento sa Pasig,” Mayor REX excitedly shared.

Under the agreement, Valenzuela City’s ValTrace App and Pasig City’s PasigPass will be integrated to ensure that both cities will have more effective and more efficient measures to contain the pandemic – that is, by being able to use one’s ValTrace QR code to enter Pasig City’s establishments and vice versa.

The collaboration also ensures that the City Government of Valenzuela and the City Government of Pasig will provide adequate safeguards in place covered by the data sharing agreement in accordance with Republic Act No. 10173 or the Data Privacy Act of 2012. Confidentiality of data will be strictly observed and sensitive information is covered by the agreement.

With this, the City Government of Pasig can notify Valenzuela City’s Epidemiology and Surveillance Unit (CESU) if there is a Valenzuela City resident who had a recent contact with a COVID-19 patient in Pasig City. Valenzuela City can likewise notify Pasig City’s CESU if their resident had a COVID-19 contact within Valenzuela – all with the monitoring using ValTrace and PasigPass QR codes in the system.

As of December 03, Valenzuela City has seen the gradual decrease in the number of active COVID-19 cases since the implementation of its intensified contact tracing through the use of QR codes since October 05 – now reporting only 83 active COVID-19 cases.

This integrated contact tracing scheme of the two (2) cities will not only make Valenzuelanos and Pasigueños daily routine to different establishments more convenient, but it will eventually lead to a controlled COVID-19 transmission where contacts between the cities can easily be monitored, and the local government itself can be alerted of possible contacts.

“Ginagawa natin lahat ng makakaya para paigtingin pa ang laban natin kontra COVID-19… Napakaganda ng ginagamit nilang [Valenzuela City] sistema na digital contact tracing solution… Nagpapasalamat po ako kay Mayor REX Gatchalian at sa buong lokal na pamahalaan ng Valenzuela dahil very generously, tinulungan po nila tayo at ipinakita nila kung ano yung sistema na gamit nila at ngayon po ay ganoon na rin po ang ginagamit natin, very similar yung PasigPass sa ValTrace,” Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto gladly shared.

As of December 01, 699,938 individuals and 1,754 establishments have already registered to PasigPass while ValTrace records 684,058 residents, 320,511 non-residents, and 19,754 establishments as of December 02.

Valenzuela City has initiated the digital contact tracing solution back in September after the full operations of its 24/7 Mega Contact Tracing Center, Valenzuela Hope Molecular Laboratory, and Valenzuela Serology Laboratory last August.

For ValTrace registration, visit https://valtrace.appcase.net/.  
For PasigPass registration, visit https://pasigpass.pasigcity.gov.ph/.