By Ferdinand Patinio | Philippine News Agency
MANILA – The Bureau of Immigration (BI) on Friday (Dec.31) said travelers from six countries that are under the red list will be barred from entering the country.
BI Commissioner Jaime Morente, in an advisory, said they will be implementing the latest resolution from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) on the new red, yellow, and green lists.
He said the updated country risk classification is effective from Jan. 1 to 15, 2022.
Under the red list are Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, and Spain.
Foreign nationals coming from the said countries, or who have a travel history there within the last 14 days preceding arrival, shall be barred entry and be sent back to their point of origin.
The BI chief added that Filipinos coming from red list countries, may be able to return via government- or non-government-initiated repatriation flights or bayanihan flights.
On the other hand, the countries included in the green list namely Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, British Virgin Islands, China (Mainland), Cote d’ Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Fiji, The Gambia, Guinea, Hong Kong (Chinese Special Administrative Region), Indonesia, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Montserrat, Oman, Pakistan, Paraguay, Rwanda, Saba (Special Municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands), Saint Barthelemy, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustatius, Taiwan, Timor-Leste (East Timor), Togo, Uganda and United Arab Emirates.
All other countries, territories, or jurisdictions not mentioned are under the Yellow List.
“Only Filipinos, balikbayan, and foreign nationals with long-term visas coming from green and yellow list countries may be allowed entry to the Philippines,” said Morente.
“Following the latest resolution, tourists are still not allowed to enter the country,” he added.
Despite the travel restrictions due to the COVID-19 Omicron variant, Morente said there is a good prospect in the international travel sector.
“While the numbers remain lower than pre-pandemic figures, international travelers both inbound and outbound doubled as compared to 2020. Little by little, the travel industry is recovering, and hopefully we see continued progress until 2022,” he added. (PNA) -ag
