Reconsider travel ban on Taiwan – Gordon

Sen. Richard J. Gordon yesterday urged the Department of Health and the Department of Foreign Affairs to reconsider the travel ban on Taiwan.

“There is no justifiable reason to include the Taiwanese in the travel ban,” Gordon said.

“The people of Taiwan have been long-time friends of the Philippines. The two peoples have longstanding cultural and economic ties. Some Taiwanese people have made the Philippines their homes and many Taiwanese businesses have opened investments here,’’ he added.

Gordon said that in October last year, a Taiwanese company launched the ₱15-billion Tipo Hightech Eco Park project in Subic which sought to develop a 200hectare property to accommodate light industrial factories, commercial facilities, high-end residential buildings, and a nature park.

He also pointed out that even in tourism, the Philippines has benefitted from Taiwan, with 241,000 Taiwanese tourists arriving here in 2018, with more than 60 percent of them on a repeat visit.

Meanwhile, the Manila Economic and Cultural Office reminded stranded Filipinos in Taiwan that they cannot extend their visa-free stay.

MECO said Filipino travelers who were affected by Taiwan’s inclusion in the travel ban imposed by the Philippines should “get the earliest flight back to the Philippines.”

“Filipino travelers stranded in Taiwan are not allowed to extend their 14-day visa-free stay in Taiwan,” the unofficial Philippine representative to Taiwan said in its advisory posted on Facebook.

Affected Filipinos should contact MECO immediately should they encounter difficulty in booking flights.

Some airlines in the Philippines have cancelled flights between Taipei and Manila after the government imposed a travel ban on Taiwan in an effort to prevent the spread of Covid-19.