FILIPINOS returning to the country would no longer be required to fill out arrival cards at airports, according to the Bureau of Immigration (BI).
In a statement on Tuesday, the agency said this would lessen the requirements and processing time of arriving Filipinos.
“This move is part of BI’s efforts to ease its travel requirements for arriving Filipinos and facilitate their fast and hassle-free entry into their own country,” Immigration Port Operations Division Chief Carlos B. Capulong said in the statement.
He noted that arrival or disembarkation cards were no longer needed due to the recent decrease in coronavirus cases in the country.
Daily passenger arrivals at the airport averaged at 13,000 to 15,000 in April, up from 6,000 to 9,000 in March.
“We required the submission of these disembarkation cards by arriving Filipinos to help the government in its contact tracing efforts at the height of the pandemic,” Mr. Capulong said. “Now that coronavirus cases are on the decline, these cards can now be dispensed with.” — John Victor D. Ordoñez