BI to increase airport manpower once country opens

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Immigration (BI) gave assurance that it would increase the number of personnel manning international airports once the country opens its borders to foreign tourists.

In a statement, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said that with the lower number of COVID-19 cases in the country, they anticipate that the country would soon open its borders to foreign tourists.

“Our frontline officers at the airports are ready and prepared, and we assure the traveling public of uninterrupted service should they decide to travel to the Philippines,” Morente added.

While the current manpower of the BI would need to be increased should international travel return to normal, the bureau would implement a response plan to address the manpower needs at the international airports.

BI-Port Operations Divisions acting chief Carlos Capulong said the recently adopted rapid response mechanism calls for the mobilization of BI personnel assigned to the other operating units of his division to perform primary inspection and supervisory duties during times of heavy influx of passengers.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is also expected to appoint 195 new Immigration officers to be hired and deployed within and outside Metro Manila.

The BI issued the statement after presidential spokesman Harry Roque said that the Philippines would reopen to international tourists in due time.

Roque said that while Metro Manila’s shift to Alert Level 2 from Alert 3 is very encouraging, the government would first have to observe the experience of other countries that have already reopened to foreign tourists.

The government is also reportedly studying requests to expand its “green list” of territories whose travelers are no longer required to undergo facility-based quarantine upon arrival.

“Should the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) and the Office of the President see that the country is ready, we will be happy to welcome again foreign tourists to our shores,” said Morente.

The BI earlier reported a 72 percent drop in international arrivals during the first three quarters of 2021 as compared to the same period last year.

The IATF should consider easing restrictions on travelers from the US based on the vaccination rate of individual states, Roque said on Monday.

“During our last update, I suggested to (Health) Undersecretary (Maria Rosario) Vergeire, because the DOH (Department of Health) gives the classification, that the classification of the US can be made state by state,” Roque said at a press briefing.

He said in New York, which he visited recently, and in California the vaccination rates are very high.

“Maybe we should look at the vaccination rate in the US on a state per state basis because the US is so big,” Roque said.

The US is currently under the Yellow List and travelers from this country are required to take a COVID-19 test after five days at a quarantine facility.

Presidential adviser for entrepreneurship Joey Concepcion appealed anew to the government to remove the facility-based quarantine requirement for vaccinated passengers from North America to get more overseas Filipinos to come home for the holiday season.

Concepcion said the required time to stay in a quarantine facility was cited as the main reason for putting off travel plans.

Meanwhile, a one-stop-shop mobile application, “Trilippines,” dedicated to Philippine tourism products and services for Chinese mainland visitors was launched.

The Philippine consulate general in Chongqing, in behalf of the Philippine embassy in Beijing, welcomed the unveiling of Trilippines.

The launch at the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Chengdu, China on Wednesday was attended by local travel and tourism offices.

Owned by ADJ Happy Travel Inc. and developed by Beijing Xiuyuan Travel, the Trilippines online platform is a one-stop shop providing destination guides and offering a comprehensive menu of flights, accommodations, day tours and domestic transportation.

The travel agency introduced key features of the app, which consolidates and customizes products and services for the Chinese user, including translation help during stay in the Philippines.

Philippine Consul General to Chongqing, Flerida Ann Camille Mayo, cited the Philippine Department of Tourism (PDOT)-ADJ Happy Travel partnership for keeping up with trends in smart tourism.

She thanked Trilippines’ creators for their foresight and appreciated their confidence in Philippine tourism despite present border restrictions.

“When pent-up Chinese travel demand meets pent-up Philippine hospitality, we will all be there – Philippine foreign service posts and DOT offices in China, Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific and Trilippines – to help open the floodgates for our long-awaited visitors from the mainland,” Mayo said.

Boosting local tourism

“Increasing the services for domestic tourists to be able to safely travel will not only cater to more Filipinos in need of assistance, but will also provide a much-needed boost to the country’s tourism industry,” Quezon City Rep. Alfred Vargas said.

The chairman of the House committee on social services cited the role of the tourism sector in revitalizing the economy as he also lauded the DOT for its “excellence and innovations” intended to revitalize the tourism sector.

Vargas also urged his House colleagues to urge the DOT to consider increasing the number of tourists to be covered by its “free” reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests program in anticipation of the holiday season.

Earlier, the DOT, through the Tourism Promotions Board, announced it was providing free RT-PCR tests at the Philippine Children’s Medical Center beginning Nov. 1.

The program is part of the DOT’s efforts to promote the country as a safe tourism destination and help speed up the tourism industry’s recovery. – Helen Flores, Pia Lee-Brago, Delon Porcalla