IATF to discuss ban on entry of foreigners

MANILA, Philippines — The government’s pandemic task force was scheduled to hold a critical meeting yesterday to decide on a proposed ban on the entry of foreigners, on the COVID-19 vaccination plan, and other measures related to the health crisis.

The meeting comes as the country grapples with a resurgence in COVID-19 infections linked to more transmissible virus variants. The country is also dealing with easing of quarantine restrictions amid a lackadaisical compliance with health and safety measures.

More than 5,000 new cases are being recorded daily, prompting the government to call for an intensified enforcement of safety protocols.

“The imposition of a temporary travel ban on foreign nationals requesting entry to the Philippines will also be discussed,” the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) and presidential spokesman Harry Roque said at a press briefing yesterday.

Last Tuesday, the Duterte administration announced a policy to limit the number of inbound passengers to 1,500 persons per day from March 20 to April 19 as a response to the upward trend in the number of COVID-19 infections.

Returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), officials of foreign governments or diplomats, people who require medical repatriation and their escorts, and emergency or humanitarian cases are not covered by the policy.

The Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) said it fully supports the proposed temporary travel ban to include Filipinos returning from abroad who are not overseas contract workers.

At a virtual briefing, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello said the temporary travel ban would spare the government the hefty cost of swab testing and providing accommodation and transportation to the provinces for ROFs.

“The truth is, we’re running out of quarantine hotels (in Metro Manila) and people are being taken to Tagaytay and Batangas to find them hotel accommodation,” he said.

Bello said funds for accommodation and other needs of returning OFWs are nearing depletion.

The DOH also agreed to suspend the entry of foreign nationals to help minimize the spread of new COVID-19 variants that may contribute to a further spike in infections.

DOH’s acting Epidemiology Bureau chief, Dr. Alethea de Guzman noted that 27 percent of the cases of the new variant detected in the country came from international travelers.

Appeal

Sen. Joel Villanueva is urging the government to reconsider its plan to bar the entry of returning overseas Filipinos, noting that their resources get depleted to the detriment of their families back home every minute they remain stranded overseas.

“Every Filipino who had lost his job, on his last money, and had last seen his family years ago, is a kababayan in distress. Let’s not wait for them to dig up garbage to eat or beg somewhere,” Villanueva said.

“They need to be brought back home because our overseas offices – undermanned and underfunded – are being overwhelmed by this growing number of stranded workers,” he said.

“Let’s not increase the number of OFWs - Overseas Filipinos Waiting for a flight home. Whatever money they have invested or saved, it will gradually disappear with every minute they cannot return to the Philippines,” he added.

Villanueva said a memorandum from the IATF on maintaining a “humanitarian air bridge” for OFWs is welcome, but there is still much to be done to ease the sufferings of OFWs. – Mayen Jaymalin, Cecille Suerte Felipe, Romina Cabrera