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The government panel managing the country’s COVID-19 response has allowed foreign spouses and children, regardless of age, of Filipino citizens traveling with them to enter the country beginning on December 7.
Balikbayan, or returning Filipinos, living abroad could also enjoy the same privilege under new guidelines approved by the Interagency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases on Thursday.
They are allowed visa-free entry, but need to have a pre-booked quarantine facility and pre-booked COVID-19 test at a laboratory operating at the airport, according to presidential spokesman Harry Roque.
Subject to maximum capacity
They would also be subject to the maximum capacity of incoming passengers at the port and the date of entry, Roque said.
The Immigration Office has been tasked with developing guidelines for the implementation of this policy.
The Department of Tourism was ordered to issue guidelines for the provision of sufficient accommodation for these people while they await the results of their COVID-19 tests.
The government limited the number of foreign arrivals to the country when the pandemic struck, but the restrictions have been gradually eased.
Last month, foreigners with an investor visa were able to cross the borders.
Filipinos, on the other hand, have been allowed to leave the country for tourism purposes.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat on Friday praised the government’s decision to allow Balikbayan to enter the Philippines from December 7 and said it would help local tourism recover from the debilitating effects of the pandemic.
Market for tourism
“The Balikbayans are seen as a viable source market of the country for tourism, which particularly extends to second and third generation dependents who have not yet discovered the roots of their parents,” Puyat said in a statement.
“That is why we consider Filipino communities abroad as unconditional partners in attracting visitors to the Philippines,” he said.
The tourism secretary said that opening the country to returning Filipinos and their families during the Christmas season “is a great cause for celebration for millions of families who long for the return home of their relatives abroad.”
“This not only bodes well for our ailing industry, it is also good news for our [countrymen] who have been crying out to reunite with their loved ones from abroad, especially this Christmas season, ”said Puyat.
The contagion of the coronavirus had brought the local tourism industry to its knees, as thousands of businesses and tourism-related activities had closed due to closures and travel restrictions that the government imposed to stop the spread of the virus.
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