The Bureau of Immigration (BI) will continue to implement the ban on the entry of all arriving passengers coming from seven restricted countries until July 15, 2021.
In an advisory, BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said the extension of the ban is in compliance with the latest Inter-Agency Task Force for the management of Emerging Infectious Diseases’ (IATF) resolution extending for two more weeks the ban on the entry of passengers from the said countries which was supposed to expire on Tuesday.
The seven countries covered by the travel ban are India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates.
Morente said that existing guidelines governing the arrival of passengers from these seven countries would still be observed.
“Foreigners arriving from the said countries will be denied entry and immediately sent back to their port of origin. On the other hand, Filipinos arriving from these countries as part of repatriation efforts by the government and non-government sectors will be allowed entry,” the BI chief added.
He also reminded the airline companies not to board passengers coming from the seven regions, as their infractions will be referred to the aviation authorities for the imposition of appropriate sanctions.
Lawyer Carlos Capulong, BI Port Operations Division Chief at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Naia), clarified that the latest IATF resolution also allowed passengers who have been fully vaccinated to undergo a 7-day facility-based quarantine. “Hence they would need to present their 7-day booking, as well as proof of vaccination to the BI before clearance,” said Capulong.
“They must likewise have come from countries tagged as “green” by the Department of Health.”
Capulong added that those who have not been vaccinated would still undergo a 10-day facility-based quarantine.
In the resolution, the IATF tasked the Bureau of Quarantine at the airport’s One Stop Shop to verify vaccination records of arriving passengers.
Current restrictions allow the entry of Filipinos, balikbayans, and those with valid and existing visas from countries not part of the travel ban. “Except for balikbayans, tourist visa holders are still not allowed to enter the country,” Capulong added.
Cancelled
Philippine Airlines (PAL) cancelled its scheduled flights to Riyadh on Wednesday as part of government measures to control virus spread.
PAL flights PR5654 to Riyadh and its return flight to Manila, PR 5655, were temporarily suspended to prevent new Covid variants from entering the country.
“We regret to inform you that we have cancelled the June 30 PR5654 Manila to Riyadh and June 30 flight PR5655 Riyadh to Manila due to a government order restricting operations to/from Riyadh airport on said date,” PAL said in a statement.
“We apologize for the inconvenience, as we had to cancel the flight at very short notice, immediately upon receiving the notice of the restriction.”
PAL passenger of these cancelled flights, may opt to:
– Convert ticket to a travel voucher;
– Avail of unlimited rebooking (no rebooking fee) until December 31, 2021. If you will be completing your travel in the same booking class by June 30, 2021 (or ticket validity, whichever comes first), there will be no fare difference charge;
– Refund ticket without penalties.
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