IATF studying allowing inbound travel to Philippines —Nograles

The government's COVID-19 task force is looking into the possibility of allowing inbound travel to the Philippines after it lifted the restriction on non-essential outbound travel of Filipinos.

Cabinet Secretary Karlo Nograles, who also serves as co-chair of the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases, made the remark in a Facebook Live video over the weekend.

During the Facebook Live video, Nograles was asked by a netizen if inbound travel will also be allowed by December.

"No promises. Like I said, pinag-aaralan pa po 'yan. We’re looking at a lot of factors," Nograles said in response.

According to him, what the government currently prioritizes is the repatriation of overseas Filipino workers from other countries.

"For foreigners, international tourists or international in-bound passengers, it's still a work in progress. Titingnan pa namin kung paano namin ma-resolve 'yan. At least we got the outbound, yung inbound next step na yan," he said.

"Yung sa December, I don't want to make promises, mahirap na. But rest assured na it's something na pinag-aaralan," he added.

Presidential spokesperson Harry Roque last week said the lifting of the restriction on non-essential outbound travel will take effect on October 21.

Under the guidelines, a traveler must have adequate travel and health insurance and submit confirmed roundtrip tickets for those traveling on tourist visas.

He or she must also execute a declaration acknowledging the risks in traveling and must have a negative antigen test result taken within 24 hours prior to departure and follow the COVID-19 guidelines for returning Filipinos. —LBG, GMA News