Cebu to accept both vaxxed, unvaxxed foreign travelers

[KC813]

On 2/11/2022 at 8:45 PM, Guy F. said:

Direct international flights to Cebu are already being canceled. We had PAL tickets LAX to CEB and they were canceled last week. We are being forced to go through Manila to get to Cebu.

I wonder if that was a only temporary cancellation.  PAL has rescheduled nonstop LAX-CEB beginning March 2nd.  Twice weekly (Wednesdays and Fridays), but only loaded in the system thru the end of March.  Perhaps you can change again to one of these flights?

[Guy F.]

14 hours ago, KC813 said:

I wonder if that was a only temporary cancellation.  PAL has rescheduled nonstop LAX-CEB beginning March 2nd.  Twice weekly (Wednesdays and Fridays), but only loaded in the system thru the end of March.  Perhaps you can change again to one of these flights?

Thanks for the info but we are playing the odds. The itinerary going thru Manila seems more likely to really happen. Also, after 4 cancellations we are done with waiting on hold on the phone. If this one is canceled we will have a domestic vacation instead.

Edited February 16, 2022 by Guy F.

[Jollygoodfellow]

On 2/16/2022 at 5:32 AM, KC813 said:

PAL has rescheduled nonstop LAX-CEB beginning March 2nd.  Twice weekly (Wednesdays and Fridays), but only loaded in the system thru the end of March.

Yes I read a news article or something about resuming. 

[Jollygoodfellow]

On 2/11/2022 at 6:45 AM, Mike J said:

If Cebu were to allow in unvaxed tourists, what would prevent any other island with an international airport from doing the same.   I think Duterte is about to knock down Garcia a peg or two and he would be justified in my opinion.

She's still standing her ground and appears to be right by the IATF own resolution.

CEBU CITY—Amid opposition from the national pandemic task force, Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia is implementing her order allowing the entry of foreign travelers to the province regardless of their vaccination status starting March 1.

According to Garcia, she is merely following the protocols set by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) which allowed the entry of foreign visitors to the country starting Feb. 16.

“I read. That is the difference with those [who] immediately react and go ballistic with just picking up a few buzz words,” said Garcia in a press conference on Wednesday afternoon.

“Hello? The IATF has been allowing unvaccinated travelers with their own resolution, only that it has been qualified. If you are unvaccinated, then you have to be quarantined for five days so it’s not me that is allowing it. It’s the IATF. That’s the trouble of not reading and not studying,” she said.

Garcia was referring to IATF Resolution No. 160-B and 160-D allowing the entry of unvaccinated foreign travelers as long as they will undergo mandatory quarantine for five days.

On Feb. 9, Garcia issued Executive Order No. 3-2022 allowing unvaccinated foreign tourists to enter the province as long as they could present a negative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test result taken within 48 hours prior to the departure from the country of origin.

Unvaccinated tourists should also be swabbed upon arrival at Mactan-Cebu International Airport and must undergo a facility-based quarantine until the release of their second RT-PCR test result taken on the fifth day.

Single shot
Garcia encouraged unvaccinated foreign nationals to get vaccinated during their stay in Cebu, saying the single-dose Janssen (Johnson & Johnson) vaccine shall be made available by the Department of Health (DOH).

The governor said that the only difference between her EO and IATF Resolution 160-B was the provision that only allowed visitors from countries with reciprocal agreement with the Philippines on vaccination cards. Garcia said she scrapped that provision in her EO.

Last week, Interior Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya announced that the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) was planning a dialogue with Garcia so Cebu province’s COVID-19 travel protocols would be aligned with the national government’s.

Based on the policy of the IATF, foreigners entering the country starting Feb. 16 must show proof of full vaccination against COVID-19.

Read more: https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1556292/unvaxxed-foreignersmay-enter-cebu-gov#ixzz7LGOfnevo
 

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, Jollygoodfellow said:

“I read. That is the difference with those [who] immediately react and go ballistic with just picking up a few buzz words,” said Garcia

So true.  She is a good governor.