MANILA, Philippines — It was like 11 months ago on Tuesday when government agencies contradicted each other on whether or not a ban on travelers from 19 countries where a new strain of coronavirus would finally be enforced.
The difference this time however is that coronavirus is long within our midst contrary to back in February when the Duterte administration struggled for the first few days to implement a travel ban on North Gyeongsang Province in South Korea, the country’s top source of tourists.
The confusion started after presidential spokesperson Harry Roque denied an announcement from the Manila International Airport Authority, which oversees Manila’s main gateway, that the Philippines was prohibiting people from 19 territories, in addition to the United Kingdom, from flying in. MIAA tweeted that decision on its official account, only to be deleted after Roque’s pronouncements.
“If you ask me, is there currently a travel ban? My answer is no. Will there be? Perhaps. Anong detalye? (What are the details?) Let's wait for it,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said during a virtual briefing aired over state-run PTV.
“Wait for us to issue an announcement if it is effective… The [Office of the President] is already preparing, just wait for the official pronouncement,” he added in Filipino.
The only problem was it was not only MIAA that declared the ban before Roque precipitated the mix-up. The health and labor departments, in separate instances early on Tuesday, likewise said travelers from 19 nations, apart from the UK, will not be allowed in from December 29 to January 15 because of the presence of a more contagious coronavirus strain.
Aside from the UK where the strain emanated, the Philippines was supposedly meant to put up travel barriers against other European nations namely Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Spain, Ireland, Netherlands, France and Iceland.
In Asia, similar restrictions would have applied against travelers from Hong Kong, Israel, Japan Lebanon, Singapore and South Korea, plus Canada and South Africa. That is, if the announcements from three government agencies were not taken back.
“We have deleted the posted advisory and will post an updated one as soon as possible,” the Department of Transportation told reporters following the commotion.
Lessons learned?
On social media, netizens were quick to heave a sigh of relief upon seeing MIAA’s now-deleted tweet about the ban, only to get disappointed yet again by a swift retraction. For days now, the government has been hesitant to broaden existing travel restrictions from the UK to other countries reporting the new COVID-19 strain despite similar moves in Japan, France and Thailand, to name a few.
This has caught the ire of many, including legislators who felt the Duterte administration has not learned from a painful early experience of delaying a travel ban. Back in January, President Rodrigo Duterte himself initially rejected proposals to prevent Chinese mainlanders from entering in the initial stages of the pandemic.
At the time, Duterte and health officials were one in assuring the public that the virus remained contained, only to be proven wrong days after when COVID-19 cases started climbing with more tests. As of Monday, the Philippines is second in Southeast Asia in terms of the number of COVID-19 cases.
For now, absent any clear government instructions, airlines like Gokongwei-led Cebu Air Inc. are keeping the status quo and have only halted UK flights. Civil aviation regulators, meanwhile, confirmed only the UK ban is currently in effect.
“I don't have any idea [about restrictions on the 19 countries]. IATF (interagency task force) usually issues requests to us... anytime they [have something new to] issue but now [we haven't received anything] yet,” Eric Apolonio, spokesperson for the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines, said in a phone interview. — with reports from Ian Nicolas Cigaral and Franco Luna