15,000 foreigners to arrive

MANILA, Philippines – Around 15,000 foreigners with long-term visas are expected to arrive in the Philippines after the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) allowed their entry amid the rising coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the country.

Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Menardo Guevara, a member of the IATF, said that records from the Bureau of Immigration (BI) showed that around 75,000 foreigners are long-term visas holders in the Philippines, 15,000 of whom have been stuck abroad due to COVID-19.

“The rest are here in the country, many of them having resided here for a long time,” Guevarra said.

The BI is an attached agency of the DOJ.

But Guevarra clarified that only foreigners with long-term visas would be allowed to re-enter the country starting Aug. 1, which means that tourists are still prohibited from entering the Philippines.

“The first batch of foreign nationals allowed to enter the country starting Aug. 1 consists of immigrant visa holders only,” he said.

BI acting spokesman Melvin Mabulac said that they already have the guidelines from the IATF and are ready to accept foreign nationals with permanent resident visas that will be coming into the country beginning Aug. 1.

Mabulac also emphasized that the foreign nationals with long-term visas are welcomed in the country again as they have just been stuck abroad due to travel restrictions caused by COVID-19 pandemic.

He said that they will check with their system one-by-one to determine the foreigners who will be returning to the Philippines on Aug. 1.