By Myris Lee
A total of 13,525 arrivals were recorded on Friday (April 1) after fully vaccinated foreign nationals from all countries started to enter the country even without an entry exemption document, the Bureau of Immigration (BI) said.
In the Laging Handa briefing today (April 2), BI Spokesperson Dana Sandoval said total arrivals have gradually increased since they loosened restrictions on the arrival of foreign nationals.
“Bandang first week po ng March, naging 10,000 arrivals na po per day tayo. Noong nagsara po ang Marso, nakakita na tayo ng around 11 [thousand] to 12,000 daily arrivals. Majority po ay mga Filipino. Siguro po mga around 30% of those arrivals are foreign nationals,” she said.
“Noong pumalo po ang April 1, noong talagang bumalik na tayo halos sa pre-pandemic visa policies, ang total arrivals natin per yesterday is 13,525 individuals ang pumasok sa ating bansa,” she added.
The BI is expecting more passengers in airports in the next few days due to the summer season.
“We are projecting around 12,000 to 14,000 or even more pa as summer season goes by,” Sandoval said.
On departure, the figures remained steady with no additional travel restrictions and travel requirements for departing passengers. – ag
