Manila, 12 Mar 2020 – The Philippine government on Thursday published a two-way roster of coronavirus travel bans: one list barring arrivals from China and parts of South Korea, and a second showing at least eight countries that now block travellers from the Philippines. The move comes after the Department of Health confirmed nine new infections overnight, pushing the national tally to 33 while keeping the country just outside the World Health Organization’s list of “high-risk” states.
A blanket ban on travellers from mainland China remains the centrepiece of Manila’s entry policy. Imposed on 2 February, the restriction still bars anyone except Filipino citizens and permanent-resident visa holders.
Even the exempted must spend 14 days in government-designated quarantine facilities. Hong Kong and Macau, Beijing’s special administrative regions, are treated the same way. Taiwan was briefly added on 10 February, but the order lasted only four days.
Taipei threatened reciprocal bans on Filipino workers, roughly 115,000 Taiwanese jobs depend on them, so Manila quietly lifted the restriction on 14 February. Health Secretary Francisco Duque III defended the differential treatment on 12 March, telling reporters: “The epidemiologic picture changes daily.
We adjust borders according to verified local transmission, not political maps.”
Korean province added after church cluster
On 26 February the government widened the net to include North Gyeongsang province in South Korea after a cluster linked to the Shincheonji Church of Jesus swelled past 1,200 cases. Filipinos are also forbidden from travelling there, the first time Manila has barred its own passport holders from a specific foreign region. Korean Ambassador Han Dong-man said Seoul “respects the Philippine decision” but noted that his government had already locked down Daegu city and Cheongdo county, both inside the banned province.
No expansion yet to Europe or Iran
Despite mounting deaths in Italy and Iran, Duque said last week that Manila will not yet restrict travel from Japan, Iran, Italy or Singapore. “We are watching reproduction numbers and health-system capacity, not just case counts,” he told a Senate hearing on 9 March. The statement leaves open the possibility of wider closures if local transmission accelerates.
For now, the government is relying on temperature checks, mandatory disclosure forms and a 14-day self-quarantine “honour system” for arrivals from countries with fewer than 100 confirmed cases.
Eight countries now block Filipinos
The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Thursday released a list of states that have turned the tables on Manila. Effective between 6 and 12 March, the bans cover: – Cook Islands – Kuwait – Qatar – Israel and the Palestinian territories – Nepal – Fiji – Seychelles Most cite the Philippines’ rising case curve and limited testing capacity.
Israel’s Interior Ministry, for example, classifies the archipelago as “Level 2 risk,” the same bracket it gives Italy before Rome was elevated to “Level 3.” DFA Undersecretary Brigido Dulay said the department is negotiating “humanitarian corridors” so that overseas Filipino workers already holding employment visas can still depart. “We respect every state’s right to protect its population, but we also have 2.2 million citizens whose livelihoods depend on mobility,” Dulay told state-run PTV.
Saudi window stays open, for now
Saudi Arabia has not joined the list, even though Riyadh on 27 February suspended entry for pilgrims and tourists from 25 countries with “particularly high risk.” Filipinos with existing work, business or family-visit visas may still enter, provided they pass medical screening on arrival. Labour Secretary Silvestre Bello III estimated that 400,000 Filipino workers are deployed in the kingdom, remitting more than USD 1.8 billion last year.
“A closure would be a double hit: lost income at home and lost manpower in Saudi hospitals now treating their own outbreak,” Bello said.
Economic toll begins to bite
The travel mirror bans are already slicing into aviation and tourism. Cebu Pacific cancelled 150 China flights since early February, while flag-carrier Philippine Airlines trimmed Seoul routes by 40 percent. The Tourism Department projects PHP 42 billion (USD 820 million) in lost receipts if the restrictions last through June.
Finance Secretary Carlos Dominguez warned that every 10 percent drop in Chinese visitors costs the economy 0.3 percent of GDP. “We are prepared to absorb a short shock, not a long freeze,” he told Bloomberg TV on 11 March.
Meanwhile, the central bank has cut this year’s growth forecast to 5.5 percent from 6.2 percent, citing “external contagion” from both the virus and the counter-measures. The lists released on 12 March are unlikely to be the last. With global infections topping 125,000 and Manila’s own caseload tripling in a week, officials concede that more border walls, physical or bureaucratic, are coming.
