MANILA, Philippines — The government is studying the possibility of allowing the entry of foreign nationals who are declared permanent residents of the country and those working in flagship infrastructure projects, Malacañang said Monday.
In a televised press briefing, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) would look into the matter following appeals from several foreign embassies to allow more international flights to enter Manila despite the coronavirus flight restrictions.
“Sinisimulan na pong pag-usapan iyan sa IATF kasi may mga request nga coming from embassies na payagan iyong mga foreign employees ng mga flagship projects,” Roque said.
(We are starting to discuss that in the IATF because there are requests coming from embassies that we allow foreign employees working in flagship projects.)
He added that holders of work visas and permanent residents of the country such as retirees and special investors, are also being considered to be allowed entry in the Philippines.
Under existing guidelines approved by the IATF, only returning Filipino migrant workers, Filipino citizens, their spouses and dependents, permanent residents, and foreign diplomats are allowed to enter the country.
All foreigners can leave anytime but Filipinos are not allowed to leave the country unless they are overseas Filipino workers or permanent residents or holders of a student visa in their country of destination.