THE Bureau of Immigration announced that Filipinos balikbayan are no longer required to submit arrival cards to immigration officers stationed at airports.
BI port operations division chief Carlos Capulong, in a memorandum, said the submission of arrival or disembarkation cards by Filipino passengers to be halted, citing the sharp decline in the number of COVID-19 cases in the country.
“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,” Capulong said in a statement.
This adjustment will “significantly” reduce the requirements and processing time of arriving Filipinos, he added.
“We required the submission of these disembarkation cards by arriving Filipinos to help the government in its contact tracing efforts at height of the pandemic. Now that COVID cases are on the decline these cards can now be dispensed with,” Capulong said.
The BI earlier projected at least 14,000 international arrivals this April.
metrosundaily
