By Alec Go
The Philippines is expecting around 12,000 daily arrivals toward the end of March and in early April as foreign nationals seek to spend their vacation in the country, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said.
Immigration Spokesperson Dana Sandoval said at the Saturday (March 19) Laging Handa briefing that there are currently 10,000 average daily arrivals, an increase of 2,000 from the 8,000 during the first week of eased travel protocols.
“Steadily umakyat to around 9,000 per day after around 2 weeks. Ngayon, after more than a month of implementation, we’re seeing around daily nasa 10,000 na dumadating sa bansa which is really what we are expecting,” she said.
“Nakikita natin na unti-unti talaga itong tataas, and we are expecting na baka pumalo pa ito hanggang 12,000 on the average per day given itong summer season,” she added.
The BI said they have completely deployed their personnel during the gradual loosening of travel restrictions to ensure service to arriving passengers and monitor their arrival, and that they are prepared in case the government lifts the policy requiring entry visas on foreign nationals from non-visa required countries.
Starting April 1, the Philippines will begin allowing fully vaccinated foreigners to enter its borders. The government previously allowed non-visa-required countries to enter the Philippines in mid-February.
Illegal recruitment, love scam
The bureau advised individuals planning to work abroad to verify the identity of their recruiting agencies through the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration amid cases of illegal recruitment and human trafficking.
Filipinos seeking foreign partners online were also reminded to be cautious amid reported “love scam” cases. The modus operandi of romance scammers include asking for money from victims after claiming that they are being held by authorities.
“Maaari nilang (love scam victims) ipa-check kung totoo na mayroong foreign national that’s being excluded sa ating mga airports,” Sandoval said, adding that the contact details of airports can be viewed at http://immigration.gov.ph. – bny
