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BALIKBAYANS (Returning Filipinos) will be allowed to return home for the holidays starting December 7.
In a letter to the Philippine Tourism Congress dated November 26, 2020, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat said that the Interagency Working Group on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID has issued Resolution No. 85 granting privileges of entry to the following in line with the Law of the Republic No. 6768 (Institutional Law of the Balikbayan Program):
• Foreign spouses and children of Filipino citizens, regardless of age, traveling with them; Y
• Former Filipino citizens, including their spouses and children, regardless of age, traveling with them.
However, the IATF-EID now requires returning Filipinos to take their Covid-19 test upon arrival at the airport.
When asked for clarification, Undersecretary for Foreign Affairs Brigido D. Dulay, chair of the IATF-EID technical working group, told BusinessMirror: “The airport has three test providers: PAL (Philippine Airlines), PAGS ( Philippine Airport Ground Support Solution Inc.), and the Red Cross. But in the US, most of them are Balikbayans, and the Covid count is high. Therefore, they must be evaluated immediately upon arrival. “
But he emphasized that “the protocols can be modified at any time to adapt to the situation.”
He added that the test on arrival is the current protocol for all arriving passengers “according to OSS-DOTr (One Stop Shop-Department of Transportation). But Balikbayans can pay for tests in advance. DOTr will publish the circular “.
Previously, many returning Filipinos, except for Filipino workers abroad, pre-booked their RT-PCR tests through the hotels where they will be quarantined. Part of the hotel package includes hotel pickup in Naia on arrival, room and breakfast, and transportation service to and from the hospital where the Covid-19 test will be performed. The medical center then sends the test results to the guest through the hotel. The guest usually receives the test result within eight hours.
Returning OFWs, on the other hand, are supposed to take their RT-PCR test at the airport, go to their assigned quarantine hotel, and wait for the test results. In the past, OFWs complained that they had to wait for test results for up to five days.
According to the IATF-EID resolution, the entry of Balikbayans and their dependents will be “allowed entry without a visa under Executive Order No. 408, s. 1960; with pre-reserved quarantine facility; with COVID-19 tests pre-booked at a laboratory operating at the airport; and subject to the maximum capacity of incoming passengers at the port and the date of entry ”.
The Immigration Office is expected to formulate the necessary guidelines “to ensure a smooth implementation. The Department of Tourism is ordered to issue the necessary guidelines for the provision of sufficient accommodation for the above persons taking into account the publication of the Covid-19 rest results.
In a separate press release, Romulo Puyat said that allowing Balikbayans or former Filipino citizens to enter the country during the holidays is a great cause for celebration for millions of families longing for the return home of their relatives abroad.
“This not only bodes well for our ailing industry, it is also good news for our kababayan who have been crying out to reunite with their loved ones from abroad, especially this Christmas season, ”he said.
“Balikbayans They are considered as a viable source market of the country for tourism, particularly extending to second and third generation dependents who have not yet discovered the roots of their parents. The Philippine diaspora to date has reached about 10 million. That is why we consider Filipino communities abroad as unconditional partners in attracting visitors to the Philippines, ”he added.
