Foreign nationals arrive at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport in Pasay City on February 10, 2022, the first day the country reopened its borders to fully vaccinated international travelers. The government's pandemic task force approved in late January the Department of Tourism's proposal to allow the entry of fully vaccinated tourists coming from 157 countries that have visa-free arrangements with the Philippines in a bid to drive recovery for the country's hard-hit tourism industry. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News
MANILA (UPDATE)—The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Saturday said no countries are under the government red list anymore, essentially allowing all international travelers — Filipinos or foreigners — to enter the Philippines.
"Wala na po yung red list countries natin," Transportation Undersecretary Raul del Rosario said, referring to the list of destinations which the Philippines deemed restricted because of the COVID-19 situation in those countries.
Video courtesy of PTV
(There are no more countries under our red list.)
"Lahat ay pinapayagan nang pumasok basta may karampatan silang travel documents at nasusunod nila yung mga health requirements [like] vaccination, RT-PCR tests," he told state television PTV.
(All travelers are allowed to enter the Philippines provided that their travel documents are complete, and that they comply with health requirements like vaccination and RT-PCR tests.)
While the Philippines is "at a point where it is starting to reopen", Del Rosario reminded travelers to avoid complacency and prepare all travel documents before leaving their country of origin.
All persons traveling to the Philippines must register and secure a One Health Pass, the country's digital contact tracing platform, he said.
"'Yan po ang magpapadali ng biyahe ninyo dahil kapag nabigyan na po kayo ng QR Code, ii-scan na lang ’yan nang mabilis," he said.
(That will expedite your trip because once you have the QR Code, all you have to do is to have it scanned it quickly.)
The development came after the national government announced that the Philippines has begun to "slowly transition" toward a new normal, as fresh COVID-19 cases continued to decline.
The Philippines reopened its borders to fully vaccinated international travelers beginning on February 10 in a bid to drive recovery for the country's hard-hit tourism industry
The Department of Health earlier said that the country needs to boost the number of fully vaccinated individuals against COVID-19 before further easing health and travel protocols.