General Info

[JusRide]

If you are a US passport holder / citizen, no tests are required. I've returned to the US several times in 2022 and no tests are required. I think the only exception is if you are c19 positive or recently (xx amount of days).

If you are not a US citizen, you should check any requirements for your country / nationality.

I've seen various answers to this. Hope someone here with recent experience can clarify.

Do I need a PCR test in the PH (presumably, Manila) to check-in and board my return flight? I'm flying PAL non-stop from NAIA to LAX.

Thanks.

[MrHappyKat]

I've seen various answers to this. Hope someone here with recent experience can clarify.

Do I need a PCR test in the PH (presumably, Manila) to check-in and board my return flight? I'm flying PAL non-stop from NAIA to LAX.

Thanks.

[WestCoast1]

FYI, they wanted to see my copy of PCR test on my phone before I left US on Friday along with vax card.

Odd. From the Phils government etravel website:

https://etravel.gov.ph/entry-guidelines

Entry Guidelines.

As per IATF Resolution No. 2 (s. 2022) on the ENTRY, QUARANTINE and TESTING Requirements of inbound travelers to the Philippines.

A. FULLY VACCINATED (Filipino and Foreign Travelers).

- No pre-departure COVID-19 Test requirement.

- Must have received the 2nd dose in a 2-dose series or a single dose COVID-19 vaccine more than fourteen (14) days prior to the date and time of departure from the country of origin / port of embarkation.

[Locamotive]

Hope this helps. From the ph.usembassy.gov website, dated January 28,2023. Fully vaccinated = 2 shots of Moderna, Pfizer, Sinovac, etc, and does not include a booster. Alternately 1 shot of J&J = fully vaccinated.

https://ph.usembassy.gov/covid-19-an...l-information/

January 28, 2023.

ENTRY AND EXIT REQUIREMENTS.

Are USA Citizens permitted to enter? Yes.

Entry to the Philippines: Although travel to the Philippines is now permitted, USA Citizens should know and comply with IATF Resolution No. 2 , which generally include the following as a minimum:

Fully Vaccinated Travelers: Pre-departure COVID testing is no longer required for fully vaccinated travelers, whether Filipinos or foreign nationals.

Unvaccinated / Partially Vaccinated Travelers: A laboratory-based rapid antigen negative test result within twenty-four (24) hours prior to the date and time of departure from the country of origin is required for entry to the Philippines.

From the Phils IATF (October 4, 2022; see pic):

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/d...RESO-2-FRM.pdf

FYI, they wanted to see my copy of PCR test on my phone before I left US on Friday along with vax card.

[WestCoast1]

Travellers with NO BOOSTER shot must secure and present a negative pre-departure RT-PCR test taken within 48 h OR negative laboratory-administered antigen / ART test within 24 h from their travel from an MOH-approved provider.

Hope this helps. From the ph.usembassy.gov website, dated January 28,2023. Fully vaccinated = 2 shots of Moderna, Pfizer, Sinovac, etc, and does not include a booster. Alternately 1 shot of J&J = fully vaccinated.

https://ph.usembassy.gov/covid-19-an...l-information/

January 28, 2023.

ENTRY AND EXIT REQUIREMENTS.

Are USA Citizens permitted to enter? Yes.

Entry to the Philippines: Although travel to the Philippines is now permitted, USA Citizens should know and comply with IATF Resolution No. 2 , which generally include the following as a minimum:

Fully Vaccinated Travelers: Pre-departure COVID testing is no longer required for fully vaccinated travelers, whether Filipinos or foreign nationals.

Unvaccinated / Partially Vaccinated Travelers: A laboratory-based rapid antigen negative test result within twenty-four (24) hours prior to the date and time of departure from the country of origin is required for entry to the Philippines.

From the Phils IATF (October 4, 2022; see pic):

https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/d...RESO-2-FRM.pdf

[Mr Hawaii]

Other gents, who have entered Phils in the past month and were not boostered: Did you have to take covid test?

Flew HNL-MNL in December on PAL. Downloaded the required software program onto my phone at the HNL airport, and answered the questions online. Good to go. Am going again next week and will follow same routine. If you have had 2 vaccine shots, further testing not needed.

[DoktorEn]

Other gents, who have entered Phils in the past month and were not boostered: Did you have to take covid test?

A friend flew into NAIA mid-Jan with just two shots of Pfizer or Moderna, I. E. No booster. No test necessary.

edit: to provide some more details. My friend has an EU passport. Think he showed the vaccine certificate once somewhere, and that was it.

[WestCoast1]

Thanks Westy but I saw this on the Philippine Embassy website earlier today. Maybe traveling from down under different. My PCR came back today so I'm all good for tomorrow as I did not get booster. Three years now, this crap needs to end. !!

Travellers with NO BOOSTER shot must secure and present a negative pre-departure RT-PCR test taken within 48 h OR negative laboratory-administered antigen / ART test within 24 h from their travel from an MOH-approved provider.

Other gents, who have entered Phils in the past month and were not boostered: Did you have to take covid test?

[Locamotive]

From the Quantas website. Single shot of J&J seems fine.

https://www.qantas.com/travelready/d...ilippines.html

Thanks Westy but I saw this on the Philippine Embassy website earlier today. Maybe traveling from down under different. My PCR came back today so I'm all good for tomorrow as I did not get booster. Three years now, this crap needs to end. !!

Travellers with NO BOOSTER shot must secure and present a negative pre-departure RT-PCR test taken within 48 h OR negative laboratory-administered antigen / ART test within 24 h from their travel from an MOH-approved provider.

[WestCoast1]

Haven't seen any info on this lately but I know many have entered. Philippine Immigration say no PCR test to enter if vaccinated shots? What's that mean, boosters? I got one shot J&J over a year ago but no boosters. After all the controversy with these things I said no way. I may schedule a PCR Covid test just in case as after 27 HR flight I want no issues. I guess OneHealth Pass is still required. Any info from those who recently entered appreciated.

From the Quantas website. Single shot of J&J seems fine.

https://www.qantas.com/travelready/d...ilippines.html

[Locamotive]

Haven't seen any info on this lately but I know many have entered. Philippine Immigration say no PCR test to enter if vaccinated shots? What's that mean, boosters? I got one shot J&J over a year ago but no boosters. After all the controversy with these things I said no way. I may schedule a PCR Covid test just in case as after 27 HR flight I want no issues. I guess OneHealth Pass is still required. Any info from those who recently entered appreciated.

[WestCoast1]

Not sure of the absolute fastest, but I got 500 mbps down (and up!) in 2 separate Knightsbridge condo units that used Globe fiber in Makati last year. Caveat: The wifi router in both units were running 60-80 mbps, depending time of day. It was only when I ran an ethernet wire from the router to my laptop's ethernet port that I got the big bump to 490-520 mbps.

Forgot to mention. I got 100 down using Convergance at Bel-Air Soho last year, and this year in Manila am currently getting 80.

My worst-case scenario was last year when an airbnb owner got confused about his router speed. He purchased 100 mbps, but when he checked me into his unit, I could only get 6-9 mbps. He was standing right there. I asked him to visit any speed test site on his phone and run a test. He got the same speed that I did. I asked him to show me the router, thinking that I could power-cycle it. "Its not here. Its down the hall in my other unit, 1707". Dude this is 1705, there is a unit between there and here. "Yes. I have an extender there on the wall". Great! He had another renter in 1707, so we walked down to 1707 and knocked and asked the renter his speed. "Lucky if I get 10. Its crap. OK for browsing, crap for streaming. Stuff buffers. Fix it". Owner: 'But, but, but I am paying for 100!' We power-cycled the modem and it didn't help. I was there for a month and complained again later about the speed. The owner didn't even call his provider to ask why they were delivering the slow speed. I complained to airbnb (property not as described, a blatant airbnb policy violation) and they suggested that I contact the owner first and ask for some money back. The owner agreed to a 10% refund, to change the txt in the description to say 10 mbs and that the unit's Internet was split with another unit.

The saving grace was that I'd just purchased a new 5 G phone and SIM card, and got a post-paid Phils phone plan. Unlimited calling and txting, and lots of GB of data. I was getting 110 mbps inside the unit (and 200 mbps outside the building) and hotspotting that to my laptop or the unit's Internet TV.

[WestCoast1]

This is pretty cool. Although which is it, 50 or 200? Kind of a big diff. : the I feel like I would need 200+ to work remotely in PH. Anyone know what the absolute fastest speed you could get in PH and by which provider?

Not sure of the absolute fastest, but I got 500 mbps down (and up!) in 2 separate Knightsbridge condo units that used Globe fiber in Makati last year. Caveat: The wifi router in both units were running 60-80 mbps, depending time of day. It was only when I ran an ethernet wire from the router to my laptop's ethernet port that I got the big bump to 490-520 mbps.

Also I got 150 down on a PLDT router sytem at a rented home in the province. I txt the owner to ask if he could get more speed but he was out of town, and he asked me to go to the PLDT store and inquire. Once there they informed me that they had a max 300 mbps down (early 2022). These speeds are vast improvements in Phils from pre-covid times, possibly due to new providers (Convergence is one; I saw their trucks in both the province and Makati; Musk's Starlink starts another).

The 50/200 is never really specified on satellite systems. Due to weather and any objects that might obstruct the signal, speed varies.

[FuriousGeorge]

This is pretty cool. Although which is it, 50 or 200? Kind of a big diff. : the I feel like I would need 200+ to work remotely in PH. Anyone know what the absolute fastest speed you could get in PH and by which provider?

Some good news. It would appear that Musk's satellite Internet service is available anywhere in Phils. The article says $500 USD (p25000) to purchase the equipment, and $50 / month (p2500) thereafter, gets you 50-200 mbps service.

https://gulfnews.com/world/asia/phil....1677051442157

[JusRide]

You can use onwardticket. They charge $14 and it's a real reservation. Just go to their website. They cancel it I believe after 24-48 hours. I've used it before, but usually I've never been asked to show it but maybe once. They ask if I have a return date / ticket and I just give them the date booked. Granted my passport shows I've been to phils and many SE asia countries many times so they never really ask a lot of questions. I'm generally at the immigration window for less than 3 minutes. Hand them your passsport, airline ticket and prepare for pic and finger prints. Done.

On the Cebu Pacific website, make an account. Before you go to Phils, purchase any 1-way CP refundable ticket out of Phils (say, to Bangkok), for 29 days after your arrival date, and show that to the NAIA inbound Immigration. Upon arrival at your hotel, go to your account on the CP website (or app) and cancel the ticket. They money will be placed into your online account for use at a later time (up to 6 months I think). That doesn't get your money back, but you can use that money in the CP account to fly domestically about the country for 6 months.

Last year I posted a link to an organization that charges a small fee ($15-$20 USD) for reserving a flight for you. You have a few hours to print out your itinerary. Then the organization cancels the reservation for you. You show the printed itinerary upon Phils entry. Phils BI rarely check to see if your reservation is still valid.

There might be other airlines that allow cancel-able and fully-refundable tickets. Other gents?