Philippines Relaxes Travel Rules

Volume 2, Issue No. 40

OPINION/COMMENTARY

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

. . . . . A community service of The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail. com) and the Philippine Village Voice (PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . .

Our latest as of Saturday, November 28, 2020 

~ Starting December 7, Filipino citizens, their foreign spouses, and their children regardless of age can now visit the Philippines even without a visa on condition they comply with certain regulations related to controlling the spread of the coronavirus. The easing of travel restrictions is expected to facilitate family reunions especially during the Christmas season.

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MANILA EASES TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS

Pinoys, Their Foreign Spouses Can Now Visit the Philippines

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Editor, The Filipino Web Channel

TORONTO - The Philippine government is easing travel restrictions to the country to allow former Filipino citizens, including their spouses and children visa-free entry under certain health conditions, starting December 7, 2020, the presidential press office has announced in Manila.

Foreign spouses and children of Filipino citizens are also permitted to come in, according to the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID), which is overseeing the program in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

Since March, foreign nationals, with few exceptions, are banned from traveling to the Philippines.

Under the agency's guidelines, travelers are required a pre-booked quarantine facility and a pre-booked COVID-19 testing at a laboratory operating at the airport. They, too, must be subject to the maximum capacity of inbound passengers at the port and date of entry.

The Philippines has currently 428,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus. Deaths from the disease it brings (COVID-19) are listed at 8,333. Among countries in Southeast Asia, the Philippines has the second-highest (after Indonesia) number of COVID-19 cases.

The IATF has directed the Bureau of Immigration and the Department of Tourism to formulate and issue guidelines to ensure the smooth implementation of the policy. 

In a press statement to the government-owned news agency, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said the IATF move was a welcome development for the travel industry, which was among the industries hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic following suspensions in international flights.

“This not only bodes well for our ailing industry but is good tidings for our kababayans who have been clamoring to be reunited with their loved ones from abroad, especially this yuletide season,” she said.

Balikbayans or former Filipino citizens are considered as a viable source market to the country's tourism sector, particularly the second and third generation dependents who have yet to discover their parents’ roots.

"The Filipino diaspora to date has reached about 10 million. That is why we deem important the Filipino communities abroad as staunch partners in driving visitors to the Philippines,” she explained. (Copyright 2020. All Rights Reserved).