Lawmaker wants e-Travel registration lifted for inbound travelers

MANILA, Philippines — The national government should lift the e-Travel registration it imposed on incoming travelers, especially since the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared that COVID-19 is no longer a global public health emergency, Rep. LRay Villafuerte said yesterday.

“Junking the tedious, time-consuming e-Travel registration process would further convince the international investor community that the domestic economy has completely reopened for business and entice more international tourists to come see the Philippines,” Villafuerte said.

“There is all the more reason for the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) to get rid of the e-Travel requirement imposed on inbound travelers, as a way to further entice tourists and prospective investors to come to the Philippines as our country transitions fully to the post-pandemic new normal,” he said.

The WHO last week declared that the three-year pandemic no longer constitutes a public health emergency of international concern (PHEIC).

“With WHO declaring that the period of COVID-19 as a PHEIC is already over and that the switch to the long-term management of the coronavirus must now be the priority,” Villafuerte stressed.

Ako Bicol party-list Rep. Zaldy Co has assured the public that the House of Representatives under Speaker Martin Romualdez will make sure funds allotted to the Department of Health will be “effective and efficient.”

No mask mandates

Meanwhile, a hotel and restaurant industry group expressed hope there would be no strict mask mandates in the country, emphasizing that it will continue observing minimum public health standards.

“We hope there will be not much mask requirement but I think, we now leave it to the establishment for their own use,” Hotel and Restaurant Association of the Philippines president Eugene Yap said at a press conference for the Philippines Furniture Furnishings Market.

For his part, Philippine Hotel Owners Association executive director Benito Bengzon Jr. said hotels would always follow the guidelines issued by the government.

At the same press conference, Philippine Retailers Association chairman Paul Santos explained that their retailer members decide on their own whether or not to enforce mandatory masking for their employees.

Last week, Department of Health officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire said the IATF recommended to the Office of the President not to bring back the mandatory face mask policy.

Lifting restrictions

The WHO’s decision to remove the global health emergency status only means that COVID-19 is now considered an “endemic” disease and that existing restrictions may be reviewed and possibly lifted too, infectious disease expert Edsel Salvaña said at the Laging Handa public briefing yesterday.

“There are still elements but we are looking if the remaining restrictions can slowly be lifted. Like quarantine, isolation, requiring vaccination cards. It could be studied how necessary it is. If not, it will be phased out,” Salvaña disclosed, adding that the country needs to return to normal to reverse the damage caused by the pandemic.

Salvaña said he does not see major changes in lifting the global health emergency, considering that the country is slowly moving toward easing restrictions such as the mask mandate.

He said extraordinary measures are no longer needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19 as the coronavirus is no longer as deadly. But he stressed the need for people to stay vigilant since cases may still go up.

Also, the Department of Tourism (DOT) hopes more Chinese tourists will visit the country again after the world-famous Boracay Island has reopened for chartered flights from China.

Tourism Secretary Christina Garcia-Frasco said she was “very happy to welcome the resumption of chartered flights from China into Kalibo,” as the popular beach destination received 180 Chinese tourists via chartered flight of OK Airlines from Changsha last April 18.

“This only manifests the fact that Boracay remains a popular destination for Chinese tourists,” she added.

She also reported that Philippine foreign service posts have resumed issuing visas to Chinese tour groups since April 11. – Mayen Jaymalin, Ghio Ong, Catherine Talavera, Paolo Romero