DFA lifts travel ban for OFWs headed for Hong Kong, Macau

The Philippine government has lifted the ban on travel to Hong Kong and Macau for Filipino migrant workers amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) threat.

In a tweet, Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) Undersecretary Brigido Dulay said the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases has exempted Hong Kong and Macau from the outbound travel ban.

Today, DFA Sec Locsin’s advocacy has come true. OFWs returning for work in Hongkong and Macau have been exempted from the outbound travel ban by the IATF-EID, subject to certain procedural formalities. Woohoo!! @teddyboylocsin

— Dodo Dulay (@dododulay) February 18, 2020

“Today, DFA [Secretary Teodoro] Locsin’s advocacy has come true. OFWs returning for work in Hong Kong and Macau have been exempted from the outbound travel ban by the IATF-EID, subject to certain procedural formalities,” he said.

The Bureau of Immigration clarified that the travel ban for tourists is still in place.

However, the ban will be lifted for OFWs, students, and permanent residents bound for Hong Kong and Macau.

The ban was part of a temporary ban on travel to China and its special administrative regions due to the coronavirus.

The Philippine government initially implemented a similar ban on Taiwan but lifted it after Taipei protested.

Overseas Workers Welfare Administrator Hans Cacdac told GMA News that OFWs, whether returning or newly hired, must sign a waiver before they fly out to Hong Kong or Macau.

“[T]hey are likewise exempted from the travel ban subject to the signing of a declaration whereby they will manifest their free will and consent to travel on their own volition obviously. And that they understand the risks of returning to Hong Kong as well as to Macau,” Cacdac said.

He added that those who opt to fly out must undergo regular check-ups.

Cacdac said OFWs stranded in the country because of the travel ban number around 7,500.

According to Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) data from 2019, every month 14,000 OFWs are deployed to Hong Kong and 650 to Macau.

Cacdac said the POEA will announce how soon they may fly to Hong Kong and Macau.

Return to PHL

Meanwhile, the IATF-EID has also amended its exceptions on travel restrictions to the Philippines. "Initially, only Filipinos and holders of permanent resident visas traveling from China, Macau, and Hong Kong were allowed entry into the country. In the recent resolution, Filipinos and their foreign spouses or children, and holders of diplomatic visas will now be allowed entry into the country subject to the required 14-day quarantine," it said.

“Those coming back from Macau and Hong Kong, families of Filipinos who are there, they can come back as well as those having permanent resident [visa] holders, as well as members of the diplomatic corps and their families,” presidential spokesperson Salvador Panelo told reporters. —Julia Mari Ornedo with Virgil Lopez, Nicole-Anne C. Lagrimas and Tina Panganiban-Perez/KBK/BM, GMA News