MANILA – With the increase in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases and entry of new variants, the country will suspend the entry of foreigners and returning Filipinos who are non-overseas Filipino workers.
Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said on Wednesday the National Task Force (NTF) Against COVID-19 will implement the travel restriction on Saturday, March 20 until April 19.
However, holders of 9(e) visas; medical repatriation and their escort/s duly endorsed by the Department of Foreign Affairs-Office of the Undersecretary for Migrant Workers (DFA-OUMWA) or the Overseas Workers Welfare Administration; distressed returning overseas Filipinos duly endorsed by the DFA-OUMWA; and emergency, humanitarian, and other analogous cases approved by the NTF COVID-19 are exempted from the travel restriction.
Roque further said that NTF has tasked the concerned agencies of the government to limit the number of inbound international passengers, or those arriving in the Philippines, to only 1,500 a day.
NTF chief implementer and vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr., meanwhile, said the cap on the number of inbound passengers allowed entry per day is just temporary and might go up if the cases of COVID-19 decline.
“Considering that we have a continuous surge, ito po ‘yung tinatawag nating major intervention para ma-prevent natin ‘yung probability na more or less 3,000 ng mga carriers ng mga variants,” Galvez said at Kapihan sa Manila Bay virtual presser./PN
