Travelers from 9 countries temporarily barred Philippine entry

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced yesterday the implementation of a temporary travel ban on passengers coming from nine red list countries starting Sept. 12.

The countries include Azerbaijan, Guadeloupe, Guam, Israel, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Saint Lucia and Switzerland.

In an advisory, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said that following the recent directive from Malacañang, as recommended by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF), passengers coming from, or who have been in the said countries within the last 14 days prior to their arrival to the Philippines, shall temporarily be denied entry.

Morente further said that passengers already in transit from any of the nine red list countries who will arrive before the implementation of the travel ban may be allowed to enter, subject to existing policies of the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ).

BI Port Operations Division chief Carlos Capulong shared that Filipinos arriving from countries under the red list under government or non-government repatriation programs or bayanihan flights may be allowed entry, but shall undergo a strict 14-day facility based quarantine and be required to take a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test that will be monitored by the BOQ.

Capulong added those who had a mere layover at any of the nine red list countries are not covered by the travel ban.

The travel ban is set to take effect on 12 a.m. of Sept. 12 until 11:59 p.m. of Sept. 18, 2021.

Meanwhile, Capulong released the countries under the green list as provided by the IATF.

These include American Samoa, Anguilla, Australia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chad, China, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Gabon, Grenada, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China), Hungary, Mali, Federated States of Micronesia, Montserrat, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niger, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Poland, Saba, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustatius, Slovakia and Taiwan.

Capulong clarified that aliens coming from the green list do not automatically qualify for entry to the Philippines.

“The general travel restriction is still in effect. Only Filipinos, balikbayans and foreigners with valid and existing visas are allowed to enter the Philippines,” said Capulong.

“Those holding tourist visas remain restricted from entering,” he clarified.

According to the BI advisory, countries not in the red or green list are automatically included in the yellow list. Those coming from the yellow list are subject to the general travel restrictions and will have to undergo quarantine and testing protocols, as implemented by the BOQ.