IATF OKs repatriation flights for Filipinos stranded in countries under travel ban
MANILA, Philippines — The government’s coronavirus task force has approved special commercial flights to fly back to the Philippines stranded Filipinos from countries currently under travel ban.
Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said on Friday that the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) has allowed special commercial flights from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, United Arab Emirates and Oman.
Travelers from the said countries are currently banned from entering the country until July 15, to prevent the spread of the highly infectious Delta variant of the coronavirus.
Roque however said the IATF has “authorized the conduct of special commercial flights to bring home stranded Filipinos” in the said countries.
The special commercial flights will be subject to guidelines to be crafted by a Special Working Group. This panel will also determine the implementing protocols for the flights, in coordination with concerned airlines.
The SWG is composed of the Department of Health, Bureau of Quarantine, Overseas Workers’ Welfare Administration, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Transportation and its One-Stop-Shop, Philippine Coast Guard, and the Department of Tourism.
Roque stressed that the special commercialized flights are exclusive for Filipinos and must first obtain prior approval from the SWF,
“Also, the Guidelines on the implementation of exemptions for the Philippine government and non-Philippine government repatriation shall be allowed,” the presidential spokesperson added.
The Philippines has been imposing the ban on passengers from India since April 29, and from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka since May 7. The scope of the restriction has been widened to include Middle Eastern countries Oman and United Arab Emirates.
Filipinos covered by the repatriation efforts of the government, however, are exempt from the prohibition provided they undergo quarantine and testing protocols but some overseas Filipino workers have urged that the ban be lifted, saying they have been stranded in their host countries for over a month.
The DFA said earlier July that it repatriated 347 distressed Filipinos who left Dubai on June 30 through a special chartered flight. For the month of June, the department said it flew home 1,920 overseas Filipinos from the United Arab Emirates. — Kristine Joy Patag with reports from Bella Perez-Rubio
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