Travelers from virus-hit South Korea province still welcome — DOH

MANILA, Philippines — Travelers from North Gyeongsang province in South Korea, where the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has infected 1,788 people, can still enter the country until tomorrow (Feb. 29), the Department of Health (DOH) said.

Health Assistant Secretary Maria Rosario Vergeire yesterday clarified that the travel ban covering visitors from North Gyeongsang province will only take effect 48 hours after the signing of the order.

The resolution imposing the travel ban was expected to be signed by all members of the Inter-agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) yesterday afternoon.

“It was agreed upon that agencies be given 48 hours to properly enforce the temporary travel restriction,” Vergeire said. “Once the IATF resolution has been signed and copies have been received, then we count 48 hours so that’s the time it becomes effective.”

She said this protocol in enforcing the travel ban is “in consideration of various factors” affecting the mandate of each agency.

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) confirmed it has yet to fully implement the selective travel ban on South Korea, pending receipt of the resolution from the IATF.

“The travel ban to Korea is pending full implementation, as we are awaiting the copy of the (IATF-) EID resolution, as well as clarification on how to target arriving passengers coming from Daegu and North Gyeongsang,” the BI said on its official Facebook page. 

“The ban is selective, as only foreigners from these areas are disallowed from entering the country,” it added.

Meanwhile, Philippine Airlines (PAL) spokesperson Cielo Villaluna said that the flag carrier denied two South Korean passengers from boarding its Manila-bound flight last Wednesday night.

Villaluna said PAL learned that the two Korean passengers came from North Gyeongsang.

Certification required

BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said immigration officers at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminals are instructed to allow the entry of all foreign nationals who came from South Korea.

However, the selective travel ban requires all arriving passengers from South Korea to present a certification issued by the Korean government stating that they did not come from North Gyeongsang or even visited the place for a couple of days since COVID-19 outbreak started, Sandoval said.

She said the foreign traveler must have at least two copies of the certification (one possibly photocopied) – one for the airline concerned and one for the immigration officer and to be presented upon arrival at the NAIA terminal, she added.

Airport scene

Yesterday, no departing Filipino tourist was seen at the airline counters bound for Incheon, South Korea after the announcement of the travel ban Wednesday night.

It was observed that departing Korean Air and Asiana Airlines passengers were mostly Filipino senior citizens with connecting flights to the United States. There were a few Europeans, but no Filipino tourists, spotted on the line.

The BI clarified that it is currently halting the travel of Filipinos departing for South Korea as tourists.

However, there is an exception for overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), permanent residents and student visa holders, as stated by Health Secretary Francisco Duque III who announced the travel ban the other night.

Meanwhile, most of the passengers of Jeju Air flights to Incheon last Wednesday night were South Koreans. There were a few Filipinos, but the BI supervisors on-duty said they were yet to receive guidelines on the ban on Filipinos tourists departing for South Korea at that time.

“We are aware of the ban, but we have not received any official guidelines on how to go about it. It’s confusing,” a BI supervisor said the other night.

Consultation with Korean embassy

Department of Justice (DOJ) Undersecretary Markk Perete is set to meet with officials from the Korean embassy today to discuss ways for the BI to effectively implement the partial travel ban. 

Perete, who has supervision over the BI, said the bureau would follow the guidelines of the IATF.

“We are coordinating with the Korean embassy to help the BI effectively enforce the ban. Their Consul General has likewise offered their assistance,” he said.

In particular, the meeting is aimed at discussing means to identify and track travelers from the area covered by the ban, and establish coordinating mechanisms to make enforcement effective, he added.

Earlier, the DOH clarified that travelers from areas in South Korea other than North Gyeongsang are not barred from visiting the Philippines.

Flight from Daegu

Meanwhile, Vergeire said health authorities in Cebu are tracing the people who came in contact with the Koreans from Daegu City, the epicenter of the COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea. 

“Our regional office and the local government are already doing the contact tracing and they have given an initial report. They also went to the places where the Koreans are so they can be advised properly,” Vergeire said.

She said it would be better to monitor the condition of the South Koreans than deport them to Daegu which poses a higher risk of spreading the infection.

No repatriation yet

In another development, Vergeire said the IATF is still discussing the possibility of repatriating Filipinos from Macau.

“We will look into the possibility of repatriation with all possible factors like when and how they will be repatriated,” she said.

Except from Macau, Vergeire said the government has not gotten any request for repatriation from Filipinos employed in other COVID-affected countries.

“We are coordinating with the Embassy of Korea all the time and we are told that Filipinos there are doing good and well advised. There is no request from them for repatriation for now,” she said.

Also, PAL said it was still awating the advice of the IATF regarding its flights to Hong Kong and Macau amid news from airport officials that the restriction imposed on the pilots and cabin crew had been lifted.

Villaluna said their pilots and crew will no longer be subjected to quarantine for 14 days so they may service other flights.

“We are just waiting for the go-signal for us to operate again to Hong Kong and Macau,” she said. – With Rudy Santos, Robertzon Ramirez, Evelyn Macairan