MALACAÑANG yesterday said “recently recovered” inbound Filipino and foreign travelers who tested positive of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in their pre-departure Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT-PCR) will be allowed to enter the country on the assumption that they have already completed their treatment and are no longer infectious.
Cabinet Secretary and acting presidential spokesman Karlo Nograles made the statement amid questions and opposition to the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to ease quarantine protocols for fully vaccinated inbound foreigners and returning overseas Filipino workers.
“Passengers who recently recovered from COVID-19 and still tested positive in their pre-departure RT-PCR test will be allowed entry to the Philippines as stated in IATF Resolution No. 158,” Nograles said in Filipino, adding their entry are subject to the presentation of documents to immigration agents upon their entry.
The required documents include a medical certificate issued by a licensed physician stating that the traveler has completed the mandatory isolation period, is no longer infectious, and has been allowed free movement/travel.
They are likewise mandated to submit a copy of the positive result of their RT-PCR test taken within 48 hours prior to the date or time of their departure from their country or port of origin, and a positive result of their RT-PCR test taken not earlier than 10 days but not later than 30 days prior to date or time of their departure from their country or port of origin.
Nograles said the IATF consulted with experts before they decided to relax inbound travel restrictions.
The government has dropped the mandatory facility-based quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated inbound international travelers and ROFs starting February 1, provided they present a negative RT-PCR result taken 48-hours before departure, and self-monitor for seven days from their date of arrival and report to their local government unit (LGU) should they exhibit any symptoms.
Only unvaccinated or partially vaccinated travelers are required to undergo a facility-based quarantine until they get a negative RT-PCR test result to be taken on the fifth day after their arrival.
The IATF has suspended the “green-yellow-red list” system which was used to classify countries, territories and jurisdictions based on their COVID-19 risk levels, and which was used as a guide in banning travelers from countries with high cases of COVID-19.
Infectious disease expert and Technical Advisory Group member Dr. Edsel Salvana said the level of vaccination rate, the hospital utilization rate and transmission rate in the Philippines, as well as in other nations, were considered before the new quarantine policies were approved.
Salvana justified the decision and said other countries have already eased their travel restrictions ahead of the Philippines.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said the easing of travel restrictions is a welcome development for tourism workers and business as this is a step towards the recovery of the industry.
Puyat said people involved in the top tourist destinations and resorts in the country are now 100 percent fully vaccinated and around 50 percent have already received their booster shots.
“We will be closely monitoring developments in the sector and keeping a close watch on tourism establishments… to ensure their full compliance with health and safety protocols,” she said amid concerns that the easing of restriction could lead to another surge of COVID-19 in the country.
Sen. Nancy Binay appealed to the IATF to reconsider or defer the implementation of its decision until a comprehensive and localized surveillance system is already in place.
In a statement, Binay said noted that the country is still struggling in controlling the spread of community infections as far as the Delta and Omicron variants are concerned.
“Other countries are also experiencing waves of surges, and it goes without saying that relaxing border control will definitely contribute to the rise of new variants and sub-variants — not to mention the probability of severe illness and deaths. Minsan mapapa-isip ka sa mga desisyon ng IATF kung trial and error (Sometimes it makes one wonder if the IATF decisions are just trial and error),” Binay said.
“Are we supposed to draw comfort from this? Is the lifting of restrictions supposed to slow down the highly transmissible rate of new variants or, in any way, be less threatening to COVID infections?” she added.
Binay said “it doesn’t make sense” to relax border restrictions amid the continued threat of the Omicron and other variants.
She said that while the number of reported deaths has been low, abruptly lifting travel restrictions would come at a high price for the Filipino people.
“Mistakes in policy decisions are both economically disruptive and unnecessarily damaging. We should have learned from the past two years. We don’t even have sane serological surveillance because we don’t have granular real-time data gathering systems in place,” Binay said.
The IATF placed Ifugao Province under Alert Level 3 from February 1 to 15, down from Alert Level 4 in January, due to the declining COVID-19 cases in the province.
The IATF the other day lowered the alert level in Metro Manila and the provinces of Batanes, Bulacan, Cavite, Rizal, Biliran, Southern Leyte, and Basilan to Alert Level 2 from February 1 to 15 from Alert Level 3 in January.
Under Alert level 3, limited face-to-face for higher education and technical-vocational education and training are allowed, while in-person classes for basic education, except those previously approved by the IATF and/or the Office of the President, are not allowed.
Establishments, or activities, are allowed to operate at a maximum of 30 percent indoor venue capacity for fully vaccinated individuals only and 50 percent outdoor venue capacity include venues for meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions; visitor or tourist attractions, amusement parks or theme parks, recreational venues, cinemas and movie houses, dine-in services, personal care establishments, and fitness studios, gyms, and venues for non-contact exercise and sports.
Also allowed at a maximum of 30 percent indoor venue capacity for fully vaccinated individuals only and 50 percent outdoor venue capacity are in-person religious gatherings, gatherings for necrological services, wakes, inurnment, and funerals for those who died of causes other than COVID-19 and for the cremains of the COVID-19 deceased, and licensure or entrance/qualifying examinations administered by their respective government agency, and specialty examinations authorized by the IATF.
Nograles said other areas under Alert Level 3 are the provinces of: Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Kalinga, Mountain Province, Ilocos Norte, Ilocos Sur, La Union, Pangasinan, Cagayan, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Aurora, Bataan, Nueva Ecija, Pampanga, Tarlac, Zambales, Batangas, Laguna, Quezon, Marinduque, Romblon, Occidental Mindoro, Oriental Mindoro, Albay, Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Masbate, and Sorsogon in Luzon.
Areas under Alert level 3 in the Visayas include: Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Iloilo, Negros Occidental, Guimaras, Bohol, Cebu, Negros Oriental, Siquijor, Eastern Samar, Leyte, Northern Samar, and Western Samar.
In Mindanao, under Alert Level 3 are: Zamboanga Del Sur, Zamboanga del Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay, Bukidnon, Lanao del Norte, Misamis Occidental, Misamis Oriental, Davao Del Sur, Davao Del Norte, Davao Oriental, Davao de Oro, North Cotabato, Sarangani, South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Surigao del Norte, Surigao Del Sur, Agusan Del Norte, Agusan del Sur, Maguindanao and Lanao Del Sur.
Also under Alert level 3 are the cities of Baguio, Dagupan, Santiago, Angeles, Olongapo, Lucena, Puerto Princesa, Naga, Bacolod, Iloilo, Cebu, Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, Ormoc, Tacloban, Isabela, Zamboanga, Cagayan de Oro, Iligan, Davao, General Santos, Butuan, and Cotabato.
Nograles said while the alert level has been lowered in some areas, it does not mean that COVID-19 is no longer there and that minimum health protocols should already be ignored. — With Raymond Africa and Ashzel Hachero
