Departing foreigners flock to NAIA

MANILA, Philippines — Foreigners swarmed the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 1 departure area as early as 6 a.m. yesterday to catch flights out of the country and avoid a government-imposed travel ban that was eventually lifted.

Several foreign nationals camped out at the departure area while waiting for their flights, some playing cards or just taking a nap.

A Caucasian man said he arrived in the Philippines on March 6 and had intended to stay longer but decided to cut his vacation short after the government gave foreign visitors 72 hours to leave or get caught in a travel ban.

Some Asians – apparently Chinese –were in raincoats and wearing masks as they awaited a China Southern flight to Guangzhou. Koreans were queuing at the Asiana Airlines counter for their flight to Incheon.

Many of the tourists went to the airport without ticket confirmation, as they were afraid to be caught by the travel ban.

They were already at the airport when word came out that the 72-hour deadline had been lifted.

The Department of Tourism (DOT) organized a sweeper flight to bring stranded foreign passengers in Cebu back to Manila.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced the lifting of the 72-hour window for foreigners to leave the Philippines after Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said at a press briefing that some changes had to be made in his March 16 memorandum on the enhanced community quarantine over the entire Luzon.

According to BI Commissioner Jaime Morente, foreign nationals may now leave anytime during the community quarantine period, unless their flights get cancelled by the airlines or the Civil Aeronautics Board.

“Our travel restrictions for foreign nationals arriving from China, Hong Kong, Macau, North Gyeongsang including Daegu and Cheongdo of South Korea, Iran and Italy still stand,” he clarified.

Visa suspension

The Philippines has suspended the granting of visa and visa-free privileges to foreigners.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. said the temporary suspension of visa issuance and visa-free entry – which took effect yesterday – was discussed and cleared with Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.

“Starting today, all our embassies and consulates will temporarily suspend visa issuance to all foreign nationals as well as the visa-free entry privileges of all foreign nationals,” an advisory posted by Locsin on his official Twitter account read.

All previously issued Philippine visas to foreign nationals are deemed cancelled. Visas already issued to foreign spouses and children of Filipino nationals remain valid.

The measure was adopted after the government placed Luzon on a month-long quarantine.

“Outgoing foreign visitors should be given all the help to get out,” he said in an earlier tweet. “Idiotic to detain them.”

Meanwhile, Taiwan announced yesterday it would bar foreign nationals whose flights departed after 00:00 Taipei Standard Time (GMT+8) on March 19 from entering the country in accordance with measures announced by the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC).

Exempted are Alien Resident Certificate holders, personnel on diplomatic or official business, persons who can prove they are fulfilling commercial and contractual obligations and persons requiring special permission. Also exempted are those who transfer or transit through a third country.

Also yesterday, Japanese Ambassador Koji Haneda released a statement expressing his country’s solidarity with the Philippines, “as we fight the COVID-19 pandemic.”

“As the Philippines’ partner in progress, Japan stands together with the Philippines in addressing this situation,” Haneda said. “Together with the rest of the world, we will get through this,” he said.

PAL flights

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) is considering operating limited international services on selected routes with the lifting of the 72-hour window for international travel.

In a statement, PAL said it is “marshaling resources to operate limited international services on selected routes for March 20 and beyond.”

The carrier, however, said the final decision would depend on whether the company, its service providers and the authorities can overcome increasing challenges, including the difficulty of securing enough manpower at the airports to support operations given quarantine restrictions and travel bans imposed by various countries.

“We at Philippine Airlines will do our part to help our customers and fellow citizens during the ongoing national and global emergency,” the airline said.

“We have so far maintained most of our international flights to help foreign tourists, OFWs and other people fly to their homelands or places of work, an urgent need identified by the Philippine government,” PAL said.

“We do so even if we are certain to incur a loss on these flights, and we are taking all necessary health and safety precautions to ensure a safe journey for the passengers and crew members on board,” it added.

“We salute our crew members, along with all our personnel and those of our service partners who show up for work in spite of COVID-19 concerns. We thank our customers above all for their understanding and support in this challenging time,” PAL said.

PAL said it is extending full free rebooking privileges to all passengers who were booked on any flight during the community quarantine period from March 15 to April 30.

It said any applicable fare difference is waived for passengers flying on the same cabin class on their rebooked flight.

Amid travel restrictions, some 400 foreign and local tourists including visitors on Siargao Island will be airifted out the island as a travel ban imposed by the provincial government took effect Wednesday.

Surigao del Norte Gov. Francisco Magtugas and provincial health officer Arlene Felizarta said the provincial government is arranging with operators of cargo planes and chartered flights for the transport of the tourists out of the island.

“We are now conducting actual physical count, inventory and monitoring, tallying of foreign and local tourists now in the island. Our estimate was between 400 and 1,000 tourists were on vacation in Siargao. Foreigners who are already residents or have married to Siargaonons – Filipinas or Filipinos – are exempted from the travel ban,” Matugas said.

Earlier, Matugas issued Executive Order No. 20-010 restricting the entry of people to Siargao island as precaution against COVID19. – Pia Lee Brago, Richmond Mercurio, Ben Serrano, Robertzon Ramirez

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