LUCENA CITY—Batangas will strictly monitor the entry of international travelers to the province after the national government lifted the travel restrictions on several countries amid the rising number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines.
The Batangas public information office, in a statement on Friday, said the provincial government will strictly implement the appropriate entry, testing and quarantine protocols for travelers coming from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri-Lanka, Nepal, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.
“The provincial government of Batangas has considered the decision made by the National Task Force Against COVID-19 to lift the travel ban on other countries on the red list or countries with high incidence of COVID-19 in their territories due to the possibility of arrivals of international travelers into the province,” the PIO announced on social media.
The PIO said the move was agreed upon during the recent meeting of the Batangas Inter-Agency Task Force Against COVID-19.
“Governor Dodo Mandanas has ordered the monitoring and strict implementation of health and quarantine procedures on Filipinos and foreigners coming from the countries stated traveling to the province,” the statement stressed.
It added that the action is to prevent the surge of highly contagious COVID-19 Delta variant.
Batangas, which remains under general community quarantine with heightened restrictions until the end of the month, has 6,804 active cases as of Sept. 10.
Starting Sept. 6, the national government has lifted the travel restrictions on several countries after President Duterte approved the recommendation of the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
These include the 10 countries specified by the Batangas provincial government.
The government earlier imposed the restrictions to prevent the entry of the COVID-19 double-mutant Delta variant first detected in India.
The travel restrictions were supposed to lapse on Aug. 31, but was extended until Sept. 5.
The lifting of the travel restrictions was strongly assailed by several senators.
Sen. Nancy Binay averred that the lifting of the travel ban would “weaken” the country’s barriers against COVID-19 and other more deadly variants of the coronavirus.
Sen. Risa Hontiveros also pointed to the shrinking capacity of hospitals to cater to COVID-19 patients.
“While hospitals are filled to the brim, is it right for the administration to prioritize lifting the travel ban? They’re treating this like a game. They’re like kids playing close-open with our airports,” Hontiveros said.