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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider Inclusion of Taiwan in travel ban may carry risks

Inclusion of Taiwan in travel ban may carry risks

Published Feb 13, 2020 12:00 am
By Roy Mabasa The government in Taipei is reportedly considering retaliatory measures against Manila if the ban on Taiwanese traveling to the Philippines will not be lifted in connection with the outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019. A man walks past a row of Taiwan's national flags in Taipei, October 14, 2011. (REUTERS/Pichi Chuang / MANILA BULLETIN) A man walks past a row of Taiwan's national flags in Taipei, October 14, 2011.
(REUTERS/Pichi Chuang / MANILA BULLETIN) Multiple reports quoting unnamed sources in Taipei indicated that the Taiwanese government is looking at the possibility of canceling the visa-free entry for Filipinos and the reduction in the hiring of overseas Filipino workers. An inter-agency task force is slated to make a final recommendation on Friday (Feb. 14) whether to lift the travel ban or not. Recruitment consultant Emmanuel Geslani expressed his fear that the current travel ban being imposed by the Philippines may put at risk the jobs of about 160,000 overseas Filipino workers in Taiwan if Taipei will indeed push through with the retaliatory measures. On Feb. 2, President Duterte announced that a travel ban would be imposed on all foreigners from China and its special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macau. A week later, the DOH confirmed that visitors from Taiwan are included in the ban, a move that triggered a strong protest from Taipei. Under the ban, travelers coming into the Philippines from those areas will not be allowed to enter the country, unless they are Filipino citizens or holders of permanent visas. Neither are Filipinos allowed to travel to those areas. The confusion brought by the announcement of the ban against Taiwanese visitors was further compounded when Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) Chairman Angelito Banayo rebuffed the DOH statement, saying Taiwanese are not actually banned from visiting the country but are instead required to provide entry and exit documents showing their travel history for the past 21 days upon entry. On Tuesday, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Manila expressed its grave concern and urged the Philippine government to immediately “correct” its decision by lifting the travel ban. “No other countries in Asia, except the Philippines, have issued travel ban on Taiwan. We urge the Philippine government to immediately correct its decision on Taiwan and remove Taiwan from the travel ban,” TECO said. Read more: TECO urges PH gov’t to reverse travel ban on Taiwan
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