Solon questions the travel warning that has been issued for the Philippines in the United States.
On Thursday, a member of the House of Representatives urged Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. to seek a formal explanation from the US Embassy about the State Department’s “Do Not Travel” advice to US individuals traveling to the Philippines.
House Economic and Stimulus Recovery Cluster head Joey Salceda advised that Locsin’s office call the US Ambassador, or at the very least obtain a written and official explanation, in a letter addressed to Locsin.
The warning was issued by the US State Department on Wednesday, citing “a very high level of Covid-19 in the country” as well as “crime, terrorism, civil upheaval, and kidnapping.”
Salceda questioned why the alert was issued, given that the Philippines is statistically safer than the United States when it comes to Covid-19 hazards.
He pointed out that Covid-19 causes six times more deaths per million in the United States than it does in the Philippines (2,633.47 versus 495.01 throughout the pandemic).
According to him, there have been just 4.73 deaths per million in the Philippines owing to Covid-19 in the last week, compared to 40.63 deaths per million in the United States during the same period.
“In other words, in the United States, one is much more likely to die from Covid-19 than in the Philippines. In reality, more Filipino healthcare professionals perished in the United States than in the Philippines as a result of Covid-19,” Salceda wrote to Locsin.
Salceda also took issue with the advisory’s security component, claiming that the security issues raised are incompatible with the United States’ expanded involvement in the country.
“The security concerns raised, particularly terrorism, are shared by the Philippines and the United States as a result of our Mutual Defense Treaty and, more recently, our Visiting Forces Agreement (VFA) with the United States,” Salceda added.
According to him, the VFA’s major goal is to make the Philippines safer and more secure.
“Challenging the Philippines’ security situation also weakens the VFA’s ostensible security benefits,” he noted.
Salceda also mentioned the advisory’s possible negative impact on tourism, given that the United States is the Philippines’ third-largest source of foreign visitors.
“The United States also has more Overseas Filipino Workers than any other country in the world.” “The travel advisory will very probably have an unjustified dampening or even chilling effect on tourist recovery, accomplishing the economic sanction’s impact without the geopolitical ramifications of proclaiming one,” Salceda added.
Salceda also stated that the United States should reciprocate the Philippines’ easing of Covid-19 travel restrictions.
“The Philippine government’s decision to ease foreign immigration restrictions, even for countries like the United States, was a show of goodwill on our behalf โ a gesture that deserved at least a fair and proportional reaction from our ostensible friends and allies,” he said.
Salceda went on to say that he thinks the US will be fairer in its danger assessments now that the Philippines is also opening up its trade and business climate to US citizens.
Beginning February 10, the Philippines will accept fully vaccinated overseas travelers from visa-free countries who provide a negative RT-PCR test taken within 48 hours of departure from the place of origin.
To date, 157 countries, including some of the Philippines’ most popular tourist destinations, such as South Korea, Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Germany, have visa-free access to the Philippines.
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