Govt eases entry rules for investors
FOREIGNERS with investor’s visas will be allowed to travel to the country starting next month, a move designed to further spur the recovery of the economy, which growth has been stunted by the coronavirus pandemic.
Palace spokesman Harry Roque Jr. said on Friday the decision to ease travel restrictions starting November 1 was reached by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of the Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATFEID) during its meeting on Thursday. Roque said foreigners allowed entry
include those with visas issued by the Bureau of Immigration pursuant to Executive Order 226, or the Omnibus Investments Code, as amended, and Republic Act. 8756; those with 47(a)(2) visas issued by the Department of Justice (DoJ); and those visas issued by the Aurora Pacific Economic Zone and Freeport Authority and the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority.
“The entry of these foreign nationals to the country, however, is subject to conditions, such as they must have valid and existing visa at the time of the entry and must likewise have a pre-booked accredited quarantine facility,” Roque said in a statement.
The Palace earlier admitted that a foreign embassy had requested the government to ease travel restrictions for its workers involved in big-ticket infrastructure projects.
Roque declined to identify the embassy that made the request. He noted that any policy on the visa issuance must be applicable to all foreigners, not just one nationality.
The IATF-EID later created a subtechnical working group “to study and address the management of foreign nationals who will be allowed to enter the Philippines for specific purposes.”
Aside from the DoJ, the panel includes the Department of Tourism, Department of Foreign Affairs, Department of Finance, Bureau of Immigration, Department of Health, Bureau of Quarantine and Board of Investments.
The issuance of visas was suspended when the government imposed strict quarantine measures in March.
Visa-free privileges of foreign nationals were also temporarily withheld. Only foreign government and international organization officials accredited to the country as well as foreign spouses and children of Filipino nationals were allowed in.
Roque also announced that Filipinos traveling abroad are no longer required to have an antigen test before their departure.
Roque said the IATF-EID amended an earlier resolution requiring a negative antigen test result taken within 24 hours before departure. An antigen test, which also uses swab samples, can detect if a person is infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus in 15 to 30 minutes.
The Bureau of Immigration on Thursday said the number of departing Filipino tourists remains low even after the government allowed the resumption of non- essential outbound travel on Wednesday.
Immigration data showed that only 95 Filipinos left under a tourist visa on Wednesday, out of the 1,172 Filipinos who departed.
Aside from easing travel restrictions, curfew hours have been shortened and multiple and staggered work shifts were in a bid to stimulate the economy.
The changes were announced by Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez, Labor and Employment Secretary Silvestre Bello 3rd, and Interior and Local Government Secretary Eduardo Año through a joint advisory they signed on October 22 and released on Friday.
“As we gradually re- open the economy in increments mindful of the current hospital capacity threshold, local government units, where applicable, are enjoined to ease curfew hours, e.g., from midnight up to 4:00 a.m.,” the advisory noted.
The multiple and staggered work shifts will “allow more workers to report to work but still maintaining the physical distancing requirements, to spread out the congestion on our roads, and to ease the demand for public transportation,” it added.
The agencies still encouraged firms to implement work- fromhome arrangements and other flexible workplace plans, if applicable to their operations.
The Trade department earlier allowed shopping malls and commercial centers to hold mall-wide sales promotion activities and marketing events, but still subject to strict physical distancing protocols.
Last week, travel agencies, tour operators, reservation services and related services in areas under general community quarantine (GCQ) got the green light to reopen at half capacity. Those in modified GCQ areas are allowed to operate at full capacity.
Earlier this month, a number of businesses in areas under GCQ were allowed to operate at full capacity, and barber shops and salons at 75-percent capacity.