Foreigners not allowed to enter PH for 1 month; all Filipinos allowed entry

The Philippines will implement a temporary ban on entry of foreigners starting March 22 as the country battles a new COVID-19 surge and increasing cases of new variants.

The National Task Force against COVID-19 also revised its previous memo and now allow all returning Filipinos, both Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) and non-OFWs, to enter the Philippines.

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“Pagbalik ng ating mga kababayan, sila ay didiretso sa isang quarantine facility,” said NTF spokesman Restituto Padilla.

In the revised memo, entry of foreign nationals to the Philippines is suspended from March 22-April 21.

The following are exempted from temporary ban on entry of foreigners:

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  • Diplomats and members of international organizations and their dependents provided they hold a valid 9(e) visa or 47(a)(2) visa
  • Foreigners involved in medical repatriation duty endorsed by the Department of Foreign Affairs Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs and Overseas Workers Welfare Administration
  • Foreign seafarers under the Green Lanes program for crew change
  • Foreign spouses and children of Filipino citizens traveling with them provided they have valid visas
  • Emergency, humanitarian and other analogous cases approved by the chairperson of the NTF COVID-19 or his duly authorized representative

Foreigners not allowed to enter PH for 1 month; all Filipinos allowed entry

However, the new memo on international travel maintained the 1,500 per day limit for international inbound passengers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Senator Joel Villanueva on Thursday called on the government to reconsider its decision on the entry ban of returning Filipinos amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the country.

“Every  who had lost his job, on his last money, and had last seen his family years ago, is a kababayan in distress. Huwag po natin antaying magkalkal sila ng mga basura para makakain o mamalimos sa tabi-tabi,” Villanueva said in a statement.

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(Let’s not wait for them to rummage through garbage for food or seek alms on the street.)

The senator added the government should not allow the number of returning Filipinos waiting for their flight to increase because they might run out of money.

Villanueva chairs the Senate labor committee.