PH closes borders to travelers from South Asia
THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) announced that they will be implementing Malacanang’s order restrict travelers coming from Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh effective today.
In an advisory, the BI shared that all passengers from the four countries, as well as those who have a travel history within the last 14 days from the date of their arrival in the Philippines, will be prohibited from entering the country starting May 7 until May 14.
“Those who would be coming prior to May 7 will be allowed, but will be referred to the appropriate agencies to undergo a strict absolute facility-based 14-day quarantine and RT-PCR testing,” said BI Commissioner Jaime Morente.
A similar restriction has earlier been implemented by the BI for arriving passengers from India, due to the onslaught of a new COVID-19 variant in the said region.
However, passengers who will be merely transiting through India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, will be allowed to enter, but will be required to undergo a strict 14-day quarantine.
BI Port Operations Division [POD] Chief Atty. Carlos Capulong stated that passengers considered transiting are those who merely stayed in the airport of the said countries the whole time and were not cleared for entry into those countries by their immigration authorities.
Meanwhile, Capulong clarified that the spouse and children of Filipinos or former Filipinos who are traveling to the Philippines without the Filipino or former Filipino spouse or parent may only be allowed upon the presentation of a valid 9[a] visa and an exemption document from the Department of Foreign Affairs [DFA].
“Only those who are traveling with the former Filipino spouse or parent are eligible for the balikbayan privilege,” said Capulong.
The Balikbayan privilege allows the spouse and children of Filipinos and former Filipinos who are traveling with them visa-free entry, with a one-year stay.
“This is in compliance to the resolution of the Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases, temporarily banning the entry of aliens holding temporary visitors’ visas,” said Capulong.
