“Part of our SOP is to ensure that the health of our officers be checked for Covid-2019 if they encountered a COVID-positive patient,” he said.  “We have instituted procedures for that, and have a medical team on standby to conduct triage and ensure that those who need testing are able to undergo it,” he said.

FLAG carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has continued to operate a number of international flights in response to urgent public need and the government's call for an air service lifeline to ferry out stranded foreign nationals.  

IMMIGRATION Commissioner Jaime Morente yesterday called on the public to stop spreading fake news amidst the ongoing COVID-2019 pandemic.

According to Morente, following the directive of President Rodrigo Duterte and as recommended by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-EID), the Bureau of Immigration will implement additional travel restrictions for arriving passengers from Iran and Italy by 12 midnight of March 16.

DEPARTING domestic passengers yesterday rushed to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to take advantage of the grace period before the domestic travel ban ordered by President Rodrigo Duterte starts tomorrow.

A SINGAPOREAN national yesterday brought into the country some US$500,000 cash which the traveler immediately declared to the Bureau of Customs (BOC) upon arrival at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

CUSTOMS authorities at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) warned travelers that huge amounts of money they are carrying, inbound or outbound, without necessary permit will be seized.

“I have ordered all NAIA heads replaced, and reshuffled all frontline personnel to break any possible collusion among them. This revamp affected around 800 officers,” said Morente. “We have likewise placed the Travel Control and Enforcement Unit and the Border Control and Investigation Unit under the control and supervision of the Intelligence Division to serve as an external check and balance to monitor airport operations,” he added.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said the expansion was recommended by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID) to include banning of inbound and outbound travel from South Korean region.

BI spokesperson Dana Sandoval said all foreign nationals who want to enter the country must present a certification issued by the Korean government that they did not come from North Gyeongsang province or even visited for a couple of days the place where the COVID-19 outbreak in South Korea reportedly started.

TRAVEL to South Korea, which has seen a surge in cases of the novel coronavirus diseases (COVID-19), has been temporarily banned.  

Meanwhile, the Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) at the Ninoy

HUNDREDS of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in the Special Administrative Region of Kurdistan, a northern province in Iraq which is violence free, has appealed to the Philippine Embassy in Baghdad to recommend the lifting of the deployment ban imposed by the government.

“As the Commissioner, I am very disappointed with the unauthorized activities of some personnel who continue to commit irregularities despite our determined efforts to get rid of the culture of corruption in the Bureau since 2016. On the other hand, I am certain that after this exposé, the intense public scrutiny and accompanying trial by publicity that the Bureau has been subjected to will only ensure that we come out stronger as we weather yet another storm,” Morente said in a statement.

FORMER Senator Antonio Trillanes IV returned to the country, quietly arriving like an ordinary passenger at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) yesterday.

SOME 5,000 overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), who were stranded due to the Taiwan travel ban, are set to leave the country bound for Taiwan.