The Philippines updates testing, quarantine rules for incoming travellers

The Philippines has updated the testing and quarantine rules for incoming travellers. The country is also following a traffic light system naming “red, yellow, and green” countries and jurisdictions.

In a press statement, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said that Romania is the only country that has been included in the red list.

Included in the green list are Algeria, American Samoa, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chad, China (Mainland), Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Cook Islands, Eritrea, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Gibraltar, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China), Kiribati, Madagascar, Mali, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Montserrat, Nauru, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Niue, North Korea, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Poland, Saba (Special Municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands), Saint Helena, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustatius, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu and Yemen.

Roque added that all other countries, jurisdictions, or territories are listed under the yellow list. The updated roster will take effect from October 16 to 31.

New testing, quarantine rules

The IATF-EID also “streamlined and codified” the testing and quarantine protocols for arriving travellers.

Fully-vaccinated foreigners travelling from green list countries no longer need to undergo a facility-based quarantine if they provide a negative RT-PCR test result taken within 72 hours prior to departure from the country of origin. Moreover, they will have to self-monitor for 14 days.

Roque said fully-vaccinated overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) or non-OFWs from green states also have the option to undergo a facility-based quarantine until the release of their negative RT-PCR test result taken in the quarantine facility upon arrival in the country. They may also opt not to undergo quarantine, so long as they get a negative RT-PCR test result within 72 hours prior to departure from the country of origin.

Unvaccinated or partially vaccinated individuals, and those with unverified vaccination status, and those who failed to comply with the “test-before-travel requirements” need to undergo a facility-based quarantine until the release of their negative RT-PCR test taken on their fifth day in the country.

Also, unvaccinated or partially vaccinated minors travelling with their fully vaccinated parents or guardians, are mandated to observe the quarantine protocols corresponding to their vaccination status.

Meanwhile, OFWs and their spouse, parents, or children as well as non-OFWs and foreigners vaccinated in the Philippines can present either a VaxCertPH digital vaccination certificate, International Certificate of Vaccination or Prophylaxis (ICV) issued by BOQ or the World Health Organization (WHO), or the national digital certificate of the foreign government accepting VaxCertPH to validate their vaccination status when travelling in the Philippines or abroad.

Likewise, foreigners vaccinated abroad can present WHO-issued ICV or the national digital certificate of the foreign government which has accepted VaxCertPH under a reciprocal agreement unless otherwise permitted by the IATF-EID.

Source: PNA