MANILA, Philippines — Arriving Davaoeños will not be required to take a free Real-Time-Polymerase Chain Reaction Test (RT-PCR) test upon arrival at the Davao International Airport (DIA), for now.

This was confirmed by Davao City Tourism Operations Office (CTOO) head Generose Tecson on Thursday (January 14) saying the city government temporarily suspended the procedure to prioritize a much important measure.

“We are redirecting our resources to address the local transmission since this is the highest in the list of cases now and will resume testing once our Los Amigos COVID-19 Laboratory will start operations,” she said.

She urged neighboring local government units (LGUs) to pick up their locally stranded individuals (LSIs) at DIA.

“Panawagan sa mga LGU especially to pick up their LSIs. From outside Davao City, we don’t allow na hindi sila sunduin,” Tecson said.

The official added that non-Davao City flight passengers may still exit the airport even without the RT-PCR negative test as long as their LGUs will fetch them and they can present other needed documents.

She also said that arriving passengers with negative RT-PCR tests taken within 24 to 72 hours before their scheduled flights to the city are prioritized for exit from the DIA after checking their health declaration forms (HDFs).

For Davao City residents without negative RT-PCR test results to show, the city tourism chief said, “We check HDF and papers. We make sure they follow the requirements. We take note of the vehicles they ride on, especially PUVs. They are given their health monitoring forms because they have to check-in with their BHERTS (Barangay Health Emergency Response Team). The 14- day home quarantine is mandatory.”

Once the Los Amigos COVID-19 Laboratory is fully operational, she said the free RT-PCR testing at DIA will resume.

“We’re just waiting for the permit ng labs natin,” she said.

As of January 13, Davao City has recorded a total of 1,376  active COVID-19 cases; 8,110 recoveries, and 468 deaths from the overall total of 9,954 confirmed positive cases since 2020.

MANILA, Philippines – Airline companies operating domestic flights will no longer be required to reserve a portion of the aircraft cabin as an isolation area for passengers showing symptoms of novel coronavirus disease, the government’s Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) leading the COVID-19 response said.

In a resolution approved on Thursday, the IATF said this measure “shall no longer be mandated to be part of the COVID-19 health protocols for domestic flights.”

The lifting of this requirement was upon the recommendation of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines (CAAP).

The IATF also directed local government units (LGU) to relax entry protocols such as test-upon-arrival requirement imposed upon airline crew layovers/positioning due to emergency situations which include typhoons, volcanic activities, diversions and emergency landings, and other similar unforeseen and time-sensitive evacuations.

Airline crew members are also permitted to temporarily billet in accommodation establishments under a “bubble” concept supervised by the LGUs.

“For this purpose, the DILG is instructed to coordinate with all LGUs to align their health entry protocols for this limited purpose. The CAAP is likewise instructed to supervise and police the implementation of these activities,” the resolution read.

The IATF also authorized the Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) to set up a corporate jet flight maintenance and crew layover hub at the Subic Special Economic and Freeport Zone under a strict “bubble” concept.

MANILA, Philippines — In line with the government-imposed modified enhanced community quarantine (MECQ), flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) cancelled all its regular scheduled domestic flights to and from Manila from August 4 to 18.

Meanwhile, all domestic flights between Clark, Cebu, Davao and cities other than Manila are not affected and shall remain operational, according to PAL.

International flights to and from Manila shall continue to operate, subject to further guidelines from the authorities in line with quarantine capacity and related arrangements.

Passengers of affected flights have the  options to rebook, refund or convert their ticket into a travel voucher, PAL said.

“We seek the understanding and full cooperation of our passengers as we make these necessary changes to comply with the government directives, and above all to support public safety,” the company asked its clients.

For updates and inquiries, PAL encourages its clients to visit its website at www.philippineairlines.com.