'Rapid Pass' launched for faster checkpoint inspection for frontliners

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 3) — COVID-19 frontliners can download unique codes starting Friday afternoon for a faster and contact-free process during checkpoint inspections.

Inter-agency task force spokesperson Karlo Nograles said the national government is launching "Rapid Pass," a system wherein accredited frontliners and authorized personnel can simply flash their unique QR codes to lessen physical contact, which is highly discouraged during the coronavirus crisis.

Frontliners and approved personnel have to request for the code through the website rapidpass.ph. A control number and QR code — similar to a bar code — will be given.

The person can show it through their smartphones or print it and display it on the vehicle's windshield so the personnel manning checkpoints can easily scan it.

For those without smartphones and printers, they can present their control numbers with a valid ID.

"Ito ay conceptualized by IATF para mapabilis ang sistema ng pagcheck ng mga sasakyan at mabawasan ang person-to-person contact sa mga frontliners na gumagawa ng kritikal na serbisyo, sa ating checkpoint officers," he said Friday in a media briefing.

Nograles said the project was commissioned and authorized by the Department of Science and Technology, in partnership with nonprofit organization Developers Connect Philippines.

He adds the "Rapid Pass" system has been tested on the field by security personnel.

Nograles said the Rapid Pass is not a requirement and frontliners can still pass through checkpoints by presenting their ID. 

President Rodrigo Duterte placed Luzon under enhanced community quarantine starting March 17. This meant strict home lockdown with some exemptions, suspending classes, and temporarily shutting down mass transportation in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease in the country. It is set to end midnight of April 13, but officials continue to discuss if it will be lifted, expanded, or extended.