PH Opens Vaccinated Filipinos From US Sans Quarantine

Beginning 8 November

23 October 2021

The National Task Force for Emerging and Infectious Diseases (NTF-IATF) will pilot a test to allow vaccinated passenger from North America to do away with quarantine restrictions beginning November 8 as the United States lift COVID-19 travel restrictions for fully vaccinated international visitors.

New entry restrictions will expand to other green and yellow listed countries beginning November 15.

Arriving passengers will no longer be required to book quarantine hotels but still be subject to RT-PCR testing after arrival into the country.

Philippine Airlines, Inc. (PAL) earlier proposed to pilot test a “no facility quarantine protocol” for vaccinated passengers from North America.

The policy will cover “North American vaccinated passengers arriving in the Philippines and Filipinos fully vaccinated in the Philippines who traveled to North America and are returning to the country,” PAL Senior Vice-President for Strategy Dexter C. Lee said.

The proposal was adopted by IATF Technical Working Group  after the National Capital Region (NCR) recorded a 90% vaccination rate against covid19, which resulted to downward trend on infections.

The coronavirus reproduction number in the NCR has dropped to 0.46 from 0.59 last week, the OCTA Research Group reported Friday. 

The coronavirus reproduction number also dropped to 0.46 from 0.59 last week, according to OCTA.

The propose policy however will still exclude non-Filipinos on non-essential travel as restrictions on entry of foreigners other than Filipino spouses and family members, residents, and diplomats remained in place . 

The new travel restrictions will be announce next week.

DOTr Inaugurates Camiguin Airport New PTB

 22 October 2021

The Transport Department (DOTr) has inaugurated the new 132.2-million pesos Camiguin Airport passenger terminal building Thursday.

DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade said the passenger terminal has grown four fold from the time Duterte administration expanded the airport facility in 2018.

"Before it can only accommodate 60 passengers, with the new one, it's now 220, there will be an impact in tourism with that," he said.

Tugade and Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP) Director General, Captain Jim Sydiongco, led the inauguration of the projects for Camiguin Airport.

The completed projects include the expansion of the passenger terminal building amounting to PHP29.2 million; construction of the administration building (PHP4.6-M); one bay fire station building (PHP3.2-M); construction of CAAP Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) Office PHP2.04-M); as well as the asphalt overlay of the runway (PHP93.04-M).

 

Philippine Airlines and Cebu Pacific flies at the airport before the covid19 pandemic hit the country.

'Super Tucano' Makes Sangley Base

 21 October 2021

By Priam Nepomuceno

 The Philippine Air Force (PAF)'s fleet of newly-acquired Embraer A-29B "Super Tucano" aircraft officially transferred to its new home at the Major Danilo Atienza Air Base (MDAAB) in Sangley Point, Cavite City on Wednesday.

"The fleet of A-29B ST (Super Tucano) commanded by Maj. Jonathan C. Barawed, Squadron Commander, 16th Attack Squadron, took off from Clark Air Base and performed formation low pass before making their first landing at MDAAB. After landing, the aircraft were rendered the traditional water cannon salute and were blessed by Maj. Edison M. Lotilla, CHS (Chaplain Service). It was followed by the ceremonial champagne pouring to mark both the joy and sanctity of the occasion," the PAF's 15th Strike Wing said in a Facebook post on Wednesday night.

It added that 15th Strike Wing commander, Brig. Gen. Aristotle D. Gonzalez, and other ranking officials of the unit, welcomed the pilots and the five A-29B aircraft.

“This very significant event culminates years of hard work and a realization of a dream for the 15th Strike Wing to acquire a modern and more capable fixed-wing platform that will continue to enable the AFP to deliver the much-needed firepower against all forms of enemies who intend to distort peace in our country," Gonzalez said.

Four of the A-29B close-support attack aircraft arrived in the country on Sept. 19, 2020, while the remaining two arrived on October 1 of the same year.

One of the aircraft is still undergoing repairs following a mishap in July this year.

Embraer pilots flew the aircraft from the company airfield in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and made fueling stops in the Canary Islands, Portugal, Malta, Egypt, Bangladesh, the United Arab Emirates, India, Thailand, and Vietnam before landing in the Philippines.

The A-29B aircraft were earlier scheduled to be delivered by the end of July last year but the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent travel bans skewed the delivery timetables.

The "Super Tucano" is a turboprop aircraft designed for light attack, counter-insurgency, close air support, aerial reconnaissance missions in low threat environments, as well as providing pilot training.

The contract for the aircraft is worth PHP4.97 billion and was issued in late 2017. (PNA)

Sorry, PH Still Closed To Foreigners

20 October 2021

The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has clarified that Foreign tourists are not yet allowed to enter the Philippines despite coming from “green list” countries, as only Filipinos, Balikbayans, Diplomats, and those with valid and existing long-term visas from green and yellow-list countries are allowed to enter the country, according to its top official.

BI Commissioner Jaime Morente said that travel to the Philippines is severely restricted to Filipinos by the National Task Force Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (NTF-IATF), which capped the ceiling of allowed persons to enter the country at 3,500 passengers per day. NO restrictions however is imposed for those going out of the country. The Civil Aeronautics Board has maintain the cap on arrivals until November 15.

"If you are not anyone of these passengers, you are not allowed to enter the Philippines," says Morente.

The Philippines however allow transit of passengers to other countries, but limit the transfer at Ninoy Aquino International Airport. Philippine Airlines for example carry transit passengers to Vietnam and Indonesia from the US.

"Technically, the Philippine border is still closed to Foreign guests, at the moment", adds Morente.

Earlier, the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF) released an updated list of Red, Green and Yellow List countries.

The lists are effective starting October 16, 2021 up to October 31, 2021.

Romania has been classified under Red List, while 49 countries have been placed under the green list.

Included in the Green List are Algeria, American Samoa, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cayman Islands, Chad, China (Mainland), Comoros, Republic of the Congo, Cook Islands, Eritrea, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Gibraltar, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region of China), Kiribati, Madagascar, Mali, Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Montserrat, Nauru, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Niue, North Korea, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Poland, Saba (Special Municipality of the Kingdom of the Netherlands), Saint Helena, Saint Pierre and Miquelon, Samoa, Sierra Leone, Sint Eustatius, Solomon Islands, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Tokelau, Tonga, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu and Yemen.

All other countries not mentioned are classified under the Yellow List.

Quarantine protocols of arriving passengers from the updated lists shall be implemented and monitored by the Bureau of Quarantine.

“Despite these travel restrictions, we remain hopeful that international travel will be safely revived soon,” said Morente.

PAF Decommisions newly acquired UH-1Ds

Activates S-70 Blackhawks to Fleet,  Accepts Scan Eagle UAVs

16 October 2021 

The Department of Defense (DND) has finally sealed operations of all its Huey helicopters in the country by decommissioning the final ten (10) UH-1D choppers, which model has been the workforce of the Philippine Air Force (PAF) for 50 years, on October 13, 2021 at the Haribon Hangar, Clark Air Base in Mabalacat City.

The ceremony witnessed the towing of the UH-1D aircraft that was made in Germany in 1981, and acquired by the government in 2014, to a water cannon salute between two (2) firetrucks as it bids farewell to the PAF fleet. 

The activity was then followed by the Acceptance, Turn-Over and Blessing of S-70i Black Hawk and Scan Eagle UAVs to the PAF inventory to act as its replacement.

PAF has received eleven of the sixteen brand new S-70i's it ordered in 2018. One frame was declared write-off after training accident in Tarlac this year, attributed to pilot errors.

The latest batch consisting of five (5) S-70i Black Hawk frames, arrived in June 07, 2021, and were formally Accepted and turned-over by the Polish Charge d' Affaires Jaroslaw Szczepankiewicz to the PAF after completion of inspection. The last batch of 5 helicopters is slated to arrive before the end of the year.

The new helicopters were procured under the AFP Modernization Plan Horizon II and is the 2nd of the 3 batches of delivery to the PAF from Polish aircraft manufacturer Polskie Zaklady Lotnicze Sp.z.o.o, a Lockheed Martin subsidiary, for around P11.5 billion. 

The initial batch of six units were delivered from November 9 to Dec. 2, 2020 — one of which was involved in a plane crash last June 24, 2021 — while the second batch of five units arrived last June 7, 2021.

Another set of 16 new Black Hawk helicopter orders is being prepared by the DND to be awarded to Manufacturer to add to the PAF fleet as it continue to boost its heli-lift capability.

Meanwhile, four (4) Scan Eagle Unmanned Aerial Vehicles worth around $4 million or P200 million, were also formally accepted and turned-over to the PAF by the US Charge d' Affaires, Heather Variava. 

These UAVs were grants from the United States government through foreign military sales (FMS). It is intended to enhance the reconnaissance operations of the AFP, as well as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) efforts.  

Why Fare To The Philippines Are Expensive, Still?

To Discourage Travel During Pandemic 

10 October 2021

While travel to the Philippines got a lot easier with the government easing quarantine restrictions effective Monday, 11 October 2021, daily quarantine capacity will still be restricted as it was before. Only quarantine days got shorter.

If you wonder why some LAX flight lands in CEB instead of MNL, and why some DXB, DOH, and RUH flights land in CEB, CRK, SFS and DVO, the reason for that is Quarantine restrictions. 

This simply means that if your travelling to the Philippines, you must be either an OFW or a business traveller, and you must stay at quarantine facility for a number of days and RT-PCR taken at your own expense if you are not an OFW.

Because for the whole country, only 3,500 passengers are allowed by Health regulators to enter every day. And about a hundred is allocated for essential travels. The rest are for OFWs and their dependents. This week, Bureau of Immigration handled 2,740 Returning Filipinos and their dependents per day and about 750 Foreign Business travelers, Residents, and Diplomats. No restrictions for going out of the country though.

Considering the allocation for essential travels, there is not much space for other forms of travel, which make traveling to the Philippines expensive. Few seats are available for essential travel.  That basically makes a trip 6 times more expensive, as you only have to pay one way fare. Return trip happens to be restricted at this time.

For NAIA, only 2,000 passengers are allowed entry. 

Why only 2,000? 

Because that is the capacity of quarantine hotels accredited by DOT, DOTR, and DOH. 

Not all hotels are accredited, or has applied for accreditation because they cannot accept other guests. Other than being ordered closed by government due to health risk classifications, access to hotel premises is also restricted.

The rest of the 1,500 allowed passengers are distributed in CRK, CEB, SFS, and DVO. There is plan to increase capacity by adding GES as gateway, but that has not been approved yet by IATF.

Out of the 3,500 passengers, PAL flies 40% of these market, while the rest is shared by other international carriers. 

PAL got the bulk of the traffic mainly because of bayanihan and repatriation flights. You can easily identify these flights as having number 8 and 9 prefixes, mostly coming from the middle east. 

Bulk of these flights are paid by the government through OWWA. Although other carriers are also chartered by OWWA like Qatar and Emirates airlines to bring folks home.

The pandemic restrictions causes PAL to transport few passengers going out of Manila and full flight going back. In reverse, foreign based carriers transport few passengers going to Manila, and almost a full flight going out, like the middle east carriers. Only KLM and THY has managed to be like PAL, possibly due to sea-based workers in Europe. While some, like CPA, lives more by cargo traffic. Thus, explains the cost for expensive transport.

At this time, other than diplomats and those having resident visas, only Filipinos are allowed to enter the country.

You must therefore be any of those mentioned above. And the purpose of your travel is either to return home or do some business. And because its necessary, you have to pay for it, dearly. 

Airlines Bid Legaspi Airport Farewell

Hello BIA! 

8 October 2021

The Bicol International Airport (BIA) welcomed its first domestic flight Friday, with 51 passengers arriving at 9:58 a.m. from Manila on board a Philippine Airlines (PAL) flight PR2923 which is the first commercial flight to land at the airport.

Bicol Airport Opens, Legaspi Closes

Inauguration Set on October 6

3 October 2021

 

Legaspi Airports bids farewell to its old home on October 5 and transfers residence to a much bigger house. Bicol International Airport will carry the ICAO name of Legaspi Airport which will be relegated to military airport.

There is no weekend for Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Art Tugade as he made a Sunday visit to check the progress of the construction works for the country’s “Most Scenic Gateway—the Bicol International Airpot (BIA), before presentation to the President Wednesday .

Bicol International Airport is not only the most scenic in the country. It is also the longest to be build in the country having been approved for construction in 2008.

The airport development project was delayed for 11 YEARS, suffered two CPP-NPA armed attacks opposed to its construction, and went through three (3) groundbreaking ceremonies prior to the current administration. It will finally be completed before the end of the year. The airport is slated to serve a total of two (2) million passengers per annum, once operational.