Philippines back to old travel status quo – Nograles

MANILA, Philippines — The travel restriction covering 36 countries with recorded cases of new variants of COVID-19 will be lifted effective tomorrow, Malacañang said yesterday.

“On Feb. 1, we will go back to our old status quo before we even implemented the travel restrictions,” Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles said over dzMM radio.

The countries covered by existing travel restrictions are Austria, Denmark, Ireland, Japan, Australia, Israel, the Netherlands, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Switzerland, France, Germany, Iceland, Italy, Lebanon, Singapore, Sweden, South Korea, South Africa, Canada,  Spain, the United States, the United Kingdom, Portugal, India, Finland, Norway, Jordan, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, Hungary, China, Pakistan, Jamaica, Luxemborg, Oman and the Czech Republic.

Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Jaime Morente confirmed the lifting of the travel restrictions, citing a directive from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF).
But Morente also issued a clarification that other travel restrictions prior to the ban authorized by President Duterte to deter the entry of new COVID-19 variants would remain in place.

“We are still limiting the entry of foreign nationals to the country,” he said. “Generally speaking, tourists are still not allowed to enter the country.”

Nograles said IATF Resolution No. 97, which lifted the travel restrictions on 36 countries, also outlined the conditions for foreign nationals who may be allowed to enter the Philippines by Feb. 1.

He said this allows government to continue enforcing strict health standards to ensure that the threat of COVID-19 in the country remains manageable.

The IATF ruled that arriving foreign nationals should have valid and existing visas at the time of entry, except for those qualified under Republic Act 6768, the Act Instituting the Balikbayan Program.

Arriving foreign nationals should also have a pre-booked accommodation for at least seven nights in an accredited quarantine hotel or facility. They shall also be subject to COVID-19 testing at the quarantine hotel or facility on the sixth day from the date of their arrival.

The IATF, which Nograles co-chairs with Department of Health (DOH) Secretary Francisco Duque III, said the entry of foreign nationals will be subject to the maximum capacity of inbound passengers at the port and date of entry.

‘Risky move’

However, experts from OCTA Research group are calling government’s move risky and contrary to sensible pandemic management since new variants of COVID-19 are more contagious.

“This is not the right time to change the policy,” OCTA Research fellow and University of the Philippines professor Ranjit Rye said in an interview with The Chiefs on One News/TV 5 on Friday night.

“This is a risky decision to make and in my view – given what we know about the UK variant, what we know of its spread in the Philippines at the moment and the catastrophic potential of a community transmission with this kind of variant – it’s not just risky, it’s contrary to sensible pandemic management,” he added.

Instead of relaxing the travel restrictions, Rye said the country should have stricter border controls “now more than ever.”

Guido David, also an OCTA Research fellow, said the government should be strict in implementing border policies such as the quarantine period, noting that the symptoms and the viral load do not necessarily manifest immediately.

“If they are relaxing the travel ban, they should at least be very strict about the border policies,” he added.

Sequencing Cebu cases

In the same interview, Rye urged the government to investigate the rise in new cases in Cebu, reiterating their recommendation to sequence samples to determine if there are UK variant cases.

“We’re not saying it’s there now. What we are asking is for government to start investigating through its own institutions if indeed – through sequencing, if they can get access to samples – the variant is already there,” he said.

“If it’s there, the response has to be implemented in a timely and appropriate manner,” he added.

Mary Jean Loreche, DOH-Central Visayas spokesperson, said they have also requested the conduct of genome sequencing of some samples to determine if a different variant is causing the surge.

OCTA earlier reported that the average number of daily new cases in Cebu rose from 98 in the period of Jan. 14 to 20 to 147 in the past week.

Standing restrictions

For his part, Morente said the BI only allows the entry of accredited foreign diplomats and personnel of accredited international organizations such as the World Health Organization and the United Nations, foreign dignitaries and those for medical and emergency cases, including their medical escorts.

Foreign spouse and minor children of Filipinos, children with special needs regardless of age of Filipinos, foreign parent of minor Filipinos and the foreign parent of Filipino children with special needs regardless of age will also be allowed entry.

Permanent residents under Section 13 of the Philippine Immigration Act, RA 7919 and EO 324, as well as those with Native Born visas may enter. Also allowed are those married to Filipinos with Temporary Resident Visas and MCL-07-021 Permanent Resident Visas relative to Section 13 of CA 613.

Investors with an EO 226 visa, Special Investors Resident Visa under EO 226, 47(a)2 visa issued by the Department of Justice and Section 9(d) Treaty Traders visa will also be allowed, together with those with economic zone visas under Aurora Pacific Economic Zone, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, Authority of the Freeport Area of Bataan, Cagayan Economic Zone Authority and Clark Development Corporation.

Additionally, holders of Section 9(g) visas who left the country starting Dec. 17, 2020 may return upon presentation of a valid ACr I-Card and Special Return Certificate.

Except for qualified balikbayans, Morente said all exempted foreigners are required to have a valid and existing visa at the time of entry with a pre-booked accommodation facility for at least seven nights subject to COVID-19 testing and to the maximum capacity for inbound passengers. – Rudy Santos, Robertzon Ramirez, Janvic Mateo