The government of Oman has decided to lift its ban on Filipinos traveling to their country effective Wednesday, Sept. 1, the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) announced.
DOLE Information and Publication Service Director Rolly Francia said Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III received a message from the Oman government that it is lifting the restrictions imposed on travelers coming from the Philippines, including overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), as well as Filipino tourists.
" wishes to announce that the sultanate of Oman, effective today (Sept. 1), is set to admit traveling Filipinos," Francia said in an online media forum also on Wednesday.
With this development, Francia said the Philippine government is already set through the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) to allow the travel to Oman "subject to the clearance to be provided by the Inter-Agency Task Force."
Oman is among the ten countries included in the Philippines' travel ban list which has been extended up to Sept. 5 as a precautionary measure against the Delta variant of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).
The DOLE official said the Philippine government is set to make an announcement on whether it will lift its ban on those coming from Oman by Sept. 5.
"We will just wait, although we had preliminary word that such will be lifted alongside the effectivity of the travel ban to other countries that will end on September 5," he added.