According to the web version of Philstar, President Duterte recently announced that he will extend the declaration of a state of calamity against Covit 19 infection until September 21, 2021.
The purpose of the declaration is to "enable governments and local authorities to control the spread of Covit 19 and to monitor and control the prices of basic necessities and key commodities. To provide basic services to the affected population in a timely manner. Apparently, the funds for this purpose should be used on an ongoing basis".
Although a state of calamity was already declared in March, the number of infected people continues to rise. This is not limited to the Philippines, but is happening all over the world, except in a few countries.
The difference is that the lockdown due to the declaration of the state of calamity in the Philippines is more severe than in other countries. In principle, people under the age of 20 and over 60 are still restricted from leaving their homes.
Because of that situation, it is basically difficult for foreigners to enter the Philippines. But if your spouse is Filipina like me, I can get a visa, I can go to Philippines. However, I am over 60 years old, so I can't go around freely even if I go to the Philippines. In addition, it seems to be impossible for ordinary tourists to enter the country for a while.
The purpose of President Duterte's extension of the state of calamity declaration is that the government will do its utmost to respond to the people, so I don't think it means that foreigners will not be allowed to enter the country until September 21 next year.
According to the Philippine Department of Tourism, 8.26 million tourists visited the Philippines in 2019, exceeding the original target of 8.2 million. South Korea ranked first by country, followed by China, the U.S., Japan, and Taiwan, with 682,788 Japanese visitors, an increase of 8 percent from the previous year.
The amount of money these tourists spend in the Philippines must have been quite a bit of money. Cebu is a popular tourist destination and there are many hotels, restaurants and commercial facilities for tourists, but there is no doubt that Cebu has been hit hard by the loss of tourists.
According to a private survey, the unemployment rate in the Philippines has reached 50%. It may be possible to be self-sufficient in a rural area called Provence, but I heard that the impact on people living and working in the cities, especially the middle class, is huge. If someone has a relative working overseas and sends money home, they can probably get by.
Because of this situation, I don't think they can stop accepting tourists forever, and I personally want to go to Cebu and see my children, so I'm looking forward to the day when I'm free to go there as soon as possible.
