HAGÅTÑA (The Guam Daily Post) — Fully vaccinated international travelers, including those from Guam, will be allowed in the Philippines once again without having to go through government quarantine starting Feb. 10, the Philippine government announced.
It’s welcome news for a number of Guam residents who have had to delay seeing families and friends in the Philippines since March 2020, when the country closed its borders to try to contain the spread of Covid-19.
Karlo Nograles, acting spokesperson for the Philippine president, in a media briefing Friday said vaccinated nationals from countries not requiring visas will be allowed to visit beginning Feb. 10.
The United States and its territories, including Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, is one of nearly 160 countries considered “visa-free.”
The Philippine government, last December, said it will accept and recognize U.S. Covid-19 vaccine certificates, including the U.S. Centers for Disease Control Vaccination Card.
As of Monday afternoon, however, the Philippine Consulate General in Guam deferred comment until it receives more information.
On Jan. 28, the Philippine government temporarily suspended its risk classification list for countries, allowing fully vaccinated travelers to enter:
• Feb. 1: The Philippines will allow entry of returning fully vaccinated Filipinos, regardless of where they come from.
• Feb. 10: The Philippines will allow fully vaccinated foreigners from visa-free countries.
These returning Filipinos and foreigners who are fully vaccinated are no longer required to go through mandatory quarantine as long as they are able to present a negative RT-PCR test taken 48 hours prior to departure from abroad.
The Philippines initially planned to reopen in December but the omicron-driven surge postponed that move.
Philippine Tourism Secretary Berna Romulo-Puyat said the tourism department sees this as “a welcome development that will contribute significantly to job restoration, primarily in tourism-dependent communities, and in the reopening of businesses that have earlier shut down during the pandemic.”
Based on the Philippines’ Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases guidelines, leisure travelers from visa-free countries will be allowed to enter the country provided that their passports are valid for at least six months at the time of arrival.
They also need to possess outbound tickets to their country of origin or next country of destination.
In the case of children under 12 years old who cannot be vaccinated, they shall follow the quarantine protocol of the parent or the accompanying adult or guardian traveling with them, the Philippine government said.
Foreign visitors must carry proof of vaccination against Covid-19 recognized by the Philippine government:
• World Health Organization international certificates of vaccination.
• The Philippines’ digital vaccination passport, VaxCertPH.
• A vaccine certificate of a foreign government that has accepted VaxCertPH under a reciprocal agreement.
Returning Filipinos and foreign travelers who are unvaccinated, partially unvaccinated or whose vaccination status could not be independently validated need to take an RT-PCR test within 48 hours before departure.
They also need to go through facility-based quarantine for five days.
After the mandatory facility-based quarantine, they still need to undergo home quarantine until the 14th day from arrival.
The Philippine flag flies between those of Guam and the U.S. during the 121st anniversary of the Proclamation of Philippine Independence at the Guam Reef Hotel in Tumon on June 12, 2019.
