MANILA -- Filipinos coming from abroad are no longer obliged to fill out arrival cards and submit them to officers manning the counters of the Bureau of Immigration (BI) at the airports.

According to lawyer Carlos Capulong, BI port operations division chief, said he recently issued a memorandum directing that the submission of arrival or disembarkation cards by Filipino passengers be stopped following 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.

The BI official observed that it is no longer necessary for arriving Filipinos to fill out and submit the said disembarkation cards to the BI, adding that such was the practice before the onset of the pandemic.

He added that the policy to exempt arriving Filipinos from submitting embarkation cards was approved by BI Commissioner Jaime Morente.

“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 adjustment, according to Capulong, will significantly lessen the requirements and processing time of arriving Filipinos.

The BI earlier reported that they are projecting around 14,000 total arrivals or more for the month of April. (BI)