Philippines to allow entry of foreign tourists soon — DOT

 

This undated file photo shows immigration counters at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism said the Philippines would welcome international tourists for leisure travels soon.

This development came after Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat announced on Friday that the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) “has approved in principle the entry of fully vaccinated tourists from Green List countries/territories/jurisdictions” upon the request of the agency.

She said the entry of foreign tourists would follow the guidelines that would be finalized and approved by the IATF-EID.

The DOT said a Special Technical Working Group on Travel has been tasked to craft the said guidelines for the final approval of the IATF.

It is composed of representatives from DOT, the Departments of Foreign Affairs, Health, Finance, Trade and Industry, Transportation, Labor and Employment, Public Works and Highways, Bureau of Quarantine, Bureau of Immigration and Board of Investment, according to Department of Justice Undersecretary Jon Paulo Salvahan, the deputy of the Small Working Group on Travel.

The proposed guidelines, according to Puyat, would also be based on strict conditions.

Under this proposal, the country would open leisure travel from the “green countries” classified by the Department of Health as low-risk countries to COVID-19.

Green list

Based on the latest IATF Resolution No. 148-A signed last November 11, the following countries are classified under the “green list” from November 16 until 30:

American Samoa

Bhutan

Chad

China (Mainland)

Comoros

Cote d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast)

Falkland Islands (Malvinas)

Federated States of Micronesia

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China)

India

Indonesia

Japan

Kosovo

Kuwait

Kyrgyzstan

Malawi

Mali

Marshall Islands

Montserrat

Morocco

Namibia

Niger

Northern Mariana Islands

Oman

Pakistan

Palau

Paraguay

Rwanda

Saint Barthelemy

Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Saudi Arabia

Senegal

Sierra Leone

Sint Eustatius

South Africa

Sudan

Taiwan

Togo

Uganda

United Arab Emirates

Zambia

Zimbabwe

The tourism agency added that only fully vaccinated individuals with vaccines recognized by the country’s Food and Drug Administration under an Emergency Use Authorization or those authorized by the World Health Organization would be allowed entry to the country.

Puyat said the approval of the DOT’s proposal would help the country’s tourism industry get back on its feet.

"Allowing tourists from green countries or territories that have the majority of its population vaccinated and with low infection rate, will greatly help in our recovery efforts--increasing tourist arrivals and receipts among others. This move will likewise aid in bolstering consumer confidence, which is a large contributor to our gross domestic product or GDP growth," Puyat said.

In 2019, the Philippines recorded 8.26 million tourist arrivals, which dropped to just 1.48 million in 2020.

The tourism industry likewise contributed 12.7% to the country’s GDP in 2019 but the DOT noted a 61.2% decrease in 2020 with only 5.4% contribution to the GDP. This is reportedly the lowest in two decades.

“According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), the Tourism Direct Gross Value Added (TDGVA) dropped to P973.31 billion last year compared with the P2.51 trillion in 2019.,” the DOT said in June.

Strategies for tourism industry recovery

The DOT, however, then said it is “optimistic that this transient situation will soon be over and that with the collective effort of the private and public sectors, the Philippine tourism industry will emerge bigger, better, and more resilient in the new normal.”

It lodged the following three strategies to overcome the tourism setback which are also stated in its Tourism Response and Recovery Plans: 

Ensure protection of jobs and safety of tourism workers, visitors, and communities

 

Support the recovery of tourism enterprises

 

Rebuild confidence and grow demand in the domestic and foreign market

“The pivot towards domestic tourism that led to the gradual reopening of various local sites, the lobbying for the protection of tourism workers through their inoculation, and the marketing of destinations highlighting the safe travel campaign are among the many efforts of the department that aim to facilitate the slow but sure recovery of the tourism industry,” the DOT said. 

“For the next two years, the Philippines will be positioned as a ‘safe, fun, and competitive destination’ rooted in strong partnerships with communities and visitors. This will be achieved by developing and marketing portfolio of products that harness the natural and cultural endowments to benefit the present and future tourism generation,” it added.

Puyat also said the welcome development on looming entry of international travelers to the country also came as neighboring countries have already reopened their borders to international leisure travelers.

“Our ASEAN neighbors like Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia also did the same. We believe that it is also time for us to reopen our borders for inbound tourism as a way towards full recovery,” Puyat said.

The DOT has been proposing the green lane that will facilitate the entry of foreign visitors who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 since May in an effort to help the reopening of the economy.

It is also working with the Small Technical Working Group on Travel for another proposal "Vaccinated Travel Lanes or Bubbles" as a special program for vaccinated tourists coming from yellow list countries, who may be able to enter the country under certain restrictions and strict conditions.

As of writing, the IATF resolution classifies all other countries/territories/jurisdictions not listed on the green list and red list as part of the yellow list. So far, only Faroe Islands and The Netherlands are under the red list.

WHAT COULD BE A CHRISTMAS GIFT?

Gift giving and receiving and Christmas simply but surely go together. Many times it incurs our indignation. Many of us defer the most important decision during the most jolliest season of the year. What is the best Christmas gift for our loved ones??? Is it really an important decision, or does it delete the real meaning of Christmas? I am sure, many of us know the real answer.

The giving spirit of the holiday season seems to fade in the light of necessary obligations and finances, along the painful dilemma of giving gifts to those who want to buy for as opposed to those for whom you should buy!

Let’s think about it: To whom are we obligated at Christmas: our boss, our cousins, our parents, our partner or our children and friends as well? What about the children? Should they give presents to people either then family members? How about the innumerable large families especially in the Philippines, because of economics, resort to the name drawing process at Christmas.

For me firstly Christmas is spirit. You can always find ways to give gifts without expenses. The most well known and always remembered gift is to give to someone like giving time. In my family we do this mostly during the holiday season.
But if I look more closely, mmh, sad to say, that “time as gift” doesn’t satisfy most of all. Well, it’s okay. There are so many ways to use your mind in terms of giving someone other things than putting Peso or Dollar notes. I am sure you know that home made gifts can also be a very good idea… .

Sure, there is etiquette of gift giving at Christmas and also other occasions. Homemade gifts are most appropriate especially as Christmas gifts, according to Stuart E. Jacobson, book author of “The Art of Giving”. Allow me to quote Jacobson, “Homemade gifts are wonderful. A gift of imagination, a gift of creativity, a gift that shows (also!) time was put into it. A created time is a wonderful present.”

When considering a homemade gift, instead of tumbling through crowded shopping malls (as I tried again yesterday!) and getting a headache (I really got!)! While stumbling from one mall to the next, I found out again, that the real and whole essence of giving a gift is to bring pleasure to the person receiving it.Jacobson says in his book, “Homemade gifts are also ideal for children to give as presents. Kids can create things because they have a unique imagination. Children should feel free to give something to anyone they spend a lot of time with. No monetary value should be placed on what a child should give to someone.”

Very well said. I am just afraid that it seems more or less impossible nowadays in these modern times… .

The Solemnity of Christ the King

By Fr. Roy Cimagala *

          THIS Solemnity marks the end of a liturgical year, somehow

reminding us that as long as we are still in this temporal world, we

have to go through a cycle of beginning and ending, until we spin off

to the world of eternity where our definitive life and home is.

          With this ending of the liturgical year, we are reminded

that we are presented year after year with the whole life and mystery

of Christ who is actually everything to us, for he is our “way, the

truth and the life.” We are given a chance not only to know him, but

also to love and serve him, which is what is most important to us, the

ultimate purpose of our life.

          Many things come to mind when we try to consider the

significance of the solemnity of Christ the King. Christ is our King

because in the first place we come from him and we belong to him in

the strictest sense of the words “come” and “belong.”

          As God the Son, the second person of the Blessed Trinity,

Christ is the very pattern of our humanity, which happens to be the

masterpiece of his creation. As God who became man, he is our Savior

who redeemed us after we spoiled our original creation. How Christ is

should also be how we should be. We are supposed to be “alter

Christus,” if not “ipse Christus.” That is actually our radical

identity.

          There could therefore be no greater king than him. His

kingship is not merely political or social. His kingship penetrates

the very core of our being and covers the whole range of our humanity

in all its aspects, conditions and circumstances. His kingship rules

us in our entirety, both body and soul. And He is king to each one of

us individually as well as to all of us collectively.

          His kingdom is already with us. That’s why at one time,

Christ said: “The kingdom of God is in the midst of you.” (Lk 17,21)

At the same time, it is still to be perfected in some other time,

place or, better said, state of life. Thus, he also said: “My kingship

is not of this world.” (Jn 18,36)

          The Solemnity of Christ the King should also remind us that

whatever we begin in life we should also end well, that ending well

ultimately means making Christ our king, the “all in all” in us, the

be-all and end-all of our life, and that the way to achieve it is to

learn to love the way Christ has loved us and continues to love us.

          Learning the art of ending well the things in general is not

a matter of solving all our problems and perfectly achieving all the

earthly goals we have set for ourselves. That will never happen. When

we die, there will still be unfinished businesses, let alone, problems

unsolved, challenges not yet tackled.

          Rather, ending things well is a matter of reconciling

ourselves with God and with everybody else. Thus, everyday, before we

go to bed, we should make sure that we ask forgiveness from God for

any weakness, fault or sin we may have committed during the day, as

well as asking forgiveness from anyone whom we may have wronged in

some way.

          We have to make sure that we end the day with Christ always,

and not just with some work accomplished and achieved. That’s how we

would really make Christ our King!

* Chaplain Center for Industrial Technology and Enterprise (CITE), Talamban, Cebu City

Email: roycimagala@gmail.com