PPA Memorandum Circular 02-2020, dated and effective February 12, is in conjunction with relevant advisories issued by the Bureaus of Quarantine (BOQ), of Immigration

PPA Memorandum Circular 02-2020, dated and effective February 12, is in conjunction with relevant advisories issued by the Bureaus of Quarantine (BOQ), of Immigration; Inter-Agency Task Force for Emerging Infectious Diseases; and other concerned government agencies regarding COVID-19.

It also follows President Duterte’s order to ban travel to and from China, and its special administrative regions—Macau and Hong Kong—and Taiwan. MC 02-2020 applies to all arriving ships that have called at any port in China, its SARs and Taiwan, and all arriving ships with crew and/or passengers who have traveled to China, its SARs and Taiwan in the past 14 days.

The order noted that all PPA ports remain open to all ships, except cruise ships, from or had port calls in China, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan, regardless of the 14-day incubation period of disease, provided they have been boarded at quarantine anchorage.

But on February 14, 2020, the restriction on Taiwan was lifted. Following this development, PPA General Manager Atty. Jay Daniel Santiago, in a text message to PortCalls, said “instructions have already been made to all PMOs [port management offices] to remove Taiwan from the list for immediate implementation.” He added that an MC implementing the exclusion “will be issued forthwith asap.” Quarantine anchorage is an anchorage for ships waiting for “free pratique,” or the license given to a ship to enter a port on the assurance that she is free of contagious diseases.

In addition, ships cleared at the first port of entry and calling another local port within the 14-day period from China, Macau, Hong Kong and Taiwan must also be boarded at the designated quarantine anchorage by a quarantine maritime officer.