President Marcos has granted travel tax exemption to all travelers departing from all international airports and seaports in Mindanao and Palawan to any destination in the BIMP-EAGA (Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines-East ASEAN Growth Area).

Memorandum Order (MO) No. 29, signed by Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin on Aug. 6, states that the travel tax exemption shall be effective until June 30, 2028, or unless sooner revoked.

A travel tax exemption may be secured from the Tourism Infrastructure and Enterprise Zone Authority (TIEZA).

Based on the MO, the grant of travel tax exemption to the said travelers aims to promote tourism and reduce barriers to trade and investment.

It likewise seeks to sustain and accelerate economic development in Mindanao and Palawan and encourage more investors to look at the Philippine EAGA routes as potent connectivity and investment jump-off points.

"For reasons of national interest, in order to further sustain and accelerate economic development in Mindanao and Palawan,... all travelers by air and/or sea departing from all airports and/or seaports in Mindanao and Palawan, and who are bound for any destination in the BIMP-EAGA are hereby exempt from payment of travel tax," the Marcos said in his memorandum order.

The travel tax exemption shall also apply to passengers with confirmed connective flights from Mindanao and Palawan to BIMP-EAGA within 24 hours on the same day and as long as there are no direct flights available from the passenger's point of origin to their destination in the BIMP-EAGA.

The BIMP-EAGA was established in 1994 as a cooperation initiative to spur development in remote and less developed areas in Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines.