President Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. is set to release an executive order allowing voluntary mask-wearing in indoor spaces, Tourism Secretary Christina Frasco announced on Tuesday, Oct. 25.
“As a result of the Cabinet meeting this morning, it was agreed that the President would be issuing an executive order for the IATF [Interagency Task Force] recommendation to make indoor mask wearing also voluntary all over the Philippines with the few exceptions,” Frasco said during a press briefing.
She said face mask is still mandated to wear in public transportation, medical transportation, and health facilities.
Unvaccinated individuals, persons with comorbidities, and senior citizens are still highly encouraged to wear face masks.
"Generally, the direction of the Marcos admin is to lift the remainder of travel restrictions into the Philippines, and that includes easing of our mask mandates to allow our country to be a par with our ASEAN neighbors who have long liberalized their mask mandates," Frasco said.
She said the cabinet has also discussed the removal of RT-PCR test for travelers.
“In addition to this, as far as unvaccinated foreigners are concerned, they would henceforth be allowed entry to the Philippines with only the requirement of presenting an antigen test with only 24-hour taken for departure or an option of taking antigen test upon arrival into the Philippines,” Frasco said.
The e-ARRIVAL card, the new online electronic platform for travelers, would not be required as a prerequisite to boarding, she said.
It is at the discretion of travelers to fill this prior to departure or upon arrival in the airport, Frasco added.
She also said special lanes in the airport would be alloted for individuals who have not had the opportunity to fill out the e-ARRIVAL card.
The Tourism Secretary said the easing of health protocols by the Marcos admin is to convey to the world that the country is open to receive tourists and investors.
“So that we would give our fellow Filipinos to regain all the livelihood and losses that were incurred during the pandemic. We are optimistic that all of these restrictions being lifted by the Marcos administration would only redound to the benefits of the lives of millions of Filipinos,” she added.
