The Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on January 28, 2021 adopted conditions for foreign nationals who are allowed to enter under previous relevant IATF resolutions, effective February 1, 2021.
Arriving foreign nationals should have valid and existing visas at the time of entry, except for those qualified under the Balikbayan program under Republic Act No. 6768 or the Act Instituting the Balikbayan Program.
These foreign nationals should also have a pre-booked accommodation for at least seven nights in an accredited quarantine hotel or facility. They shall also be subject to COVID-19 testing at the quarantine hotel or facility on the sixth day from the date of their arrival.
The entry of these foreign nationals will be subject to the maximum capacity of inbound passengers at the port and date of entry.
The Bureau of Immigration has been directed to formulate the necessary guidelines in this regard.
The IATF, in its Resolution No. 97, also approved the recommendation of the National Task Force Against COVID-19 Task Group on Food Security in ensuring the unhampered passage of hog shipment from Visayas and Mindanao, while preventing the spread of the African Swine Fever and observing all science-based precautionary and quarantine measures. It supported the proposal of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to designate the nautical highway from Luzon and Mindanao, and the Maharlika Highway in Luzon as Special Hog Lanes.
The IATF directed the DA, the Department of the Interior and Local Government, and the Department of Trade and Industry to jointly implement the said resolution.
(From Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque)
