THE Bureau of Immigration (BI) has started banning travelers from four countries.
Bureau of Immigration (BI) Commissioner Jaime Morente said the implementation of the temporary travel ban of passengers coming from Grenada, Papua New Guinea, Serbia and Slovenia started on Sunday, September 12, 2021.
This developed after the recent resolution from the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-MEID) approved by Malacanang.
Passengers coming from the said countries within the last 14 days are temporarily banned from entering the country.
Meanwhile, the agency also announced countries under the green list.
These are American Samoa, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chad, China, Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Gabon, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China), Hungary, Madagascar, Mali, Federated States of Micronesia, Montserrat, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niger, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Poland, Saba, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustatius, Taiwan, Algeria, Bhutan, Cook Islands, Eritrea, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Nicaragua, Niue, North Korea, Saint Helena, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Yemen.
Morente said countries not mentioned in the green category are in the Yellow List.
“Classified under the yellow list are those countries, jurisdictions, and territories that the IATF-MEID deem as ‘moderate risk’,” Morente said.
Travelers coming from Green and Yellow countries, if part of allowable classes, may be allowed to enter, subject to quarantine and testing protocols, as implemented by the Bureau of Quarantine.
The travel ban will be in effect until September 30.
Morente said aliens coming from the green and yellow lists do not automatically qualify for entry to the Philippines.
“The general travel restrictions are still in effect. Only Filipinos, balikbayans and foreigners with valid and existing visas are allowed to enter the Philippines,” said Morente.
“Tourists remain restricted from entering,” he added.