The Philippines has continued its push to ease remaining COVID-19 restrictions, with unvaccinated arrivals now allowed to enter without the need to quarantine.
Days after signing an Executive Order making the use of face masks in public places voluntary, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr inked another resolution on Wednesday lifting the quarantine requirement for travelers entering the Philippines who are either unvaccinated, partially vaccinated, or whose vaccination status cannot be independently validated.
They will still, however, be required to present a negative NAT test result.
“Filipinos and foreign nationals 15 years or older shall present a remotely supervised or a laboratory-based rapid antigen negative test result administered and certified by a healthcare professional in a healthcare facility, laboratory, clinic, pharmacy, or other similar establishments taken within 24 hours prior to the date and time of departure from the country of origin/first port of embarkation in a continuous travel to the Philippines, excluding lay-overs; provided, that, he/she has not left the airport premises or has not been admitted into another country during such lay-over,” the resolution states.
The latest resolution also removes any requirement for fully vaccinated travelers to take a pre-departure test although they remain required to show proof of vaccination with the final dose to have been administered at least 14 days prior to departure.
The Philippines previously reopened its borders to international tourists in February, eased capacity restrictions in March and ended all lockdowns in April as it transitioned to living with COVID-19.