Arrival at NAIA, The "New Norm"

[BrettGC]

TL;DR (Too long; Don't Read):  Have your sh#t in one sock or they will deny you entry.  

To begin with, it should be noted that the PCR timeframe prior to departure for PI has been reduced from 72 to 48 hours and you should plan accordingly.  Bureau of Quarantine officials are enforcing this upon entry. 

Anyway, to the matter at hand.

Upon arrival at NAIA disembarkation will be delayed by various announcements with regards to COVID procedures etc.  Some of them repeat the same points, but there’s information that is surprisingly helpful in each one. 

After you finally leave the aircraft, you take the usual meandering walk towards immigration with the addition of some of the departure lounges that have been added to the normal routes to accommodate the “checkpoints”.

Before describing the process, I can’t emphasise how important it is to go through the One  Health Pass (OHP) registration prior to departure on the Bureau of  Quarantine website: https://onehealthpass.com.ph/e-HDC/OHP-Registration/ it must be completed within 3 days of your date of arrival.  No sooner.  I witnessed quite an interesting discussion between an Aussie and one of the officials due to the flight being delayed a day thus making his registration 1 day beyond the 3 day limit.  They let him through but probably better to avoid the issue entirely. 

It should be noted that the current list of approved quarantine hotels found here https://quarantine.doh.gov.ph/boq-allowed-and-dot-accredited-quarantine-facilities-as-of-december-20-2021/ isn’t entirely accurate.  Hotels are constantly having their accreditation revoked but they’ll stay in the pull-down list in the OHP registration.  To be on the safe side, my advice would be to call your chosen hotel directly and confirm they’re still accredited.

Checkpoint one, manned by Bureau of Quarantine (BOQ) personnel they’ll require you to show the following:

·         Passport,

·         OHP,

·         Proof of negative PCR test,

·         Proof of vaccination from your home government app or hard copy.

 

Checkpoint two – again BOQ personnel:

·         Same as checkpoint one but with the addition of proof of accredited quarantine hotel booking.

 

Immigration:

·        OHP,

·        Entry paperwork you filled out on the plane,

·        Passport with valid visa, and

·        In my case proof of relationship (marriage certificate) supporting my 9a. Interestingly I noticed that the Balikbayan’s were being processed much faster than the visa holders.

Head over to baggage claim, grab your bags then go over to.. wait for it…

Checkpoint 4 (BOQ personnel):

·         OHP only.

The guys at checkpoint 4 will then direct you to either the hotel shuttle vans, or if your hotel doesn’t provide one, to the un-metered taxis.  For me it was the unmetered taxis.  Exit the terminal, cross the road to where the taxis usually are, head to the left and you’ll see a booth.  Go to the booth and show your OHP and they’ll give you a ticket with a fixed price and a copy of it to your driver.  The non-metered taxis are all white with the old “3 stickers” on the front windscreen.  The ride to my hotel in Malate just across the road from Robinson’s, was 530PHP; not a great price but not horrible either.  Traffic was light even for 830pm at night, a sign of the “new norm” I guess.

Upon arrival at my hotel, I had my temperature checked and signed a declaration I’ll comply with the quarantine regulations, then checked in as normal. 

Interestingly my hotel won’t allow food deliveries, which is in accordance with the regulations, but I know of some people that have been able to do this in other facilities.  No big deal for me as they have a pretty reasonably priced restaurant for room service here and I’m in a studio with a decent kitchenette and they will go and do a grocery shop upon request. 

At some point the scanning of my OHP QR code triggered the randomly selected pathology lab on the OHP registration form (you’ll see what I mean when you fill in the form) to send me an email confirming my hotel and room number and after following the bouncing ball linked in the email, they sent another email detailing the date and procedure for my day 5 test. 

I think that about covers it all.  Like Sydney, it was a reasonably seamless but unlike Sydney a time consuming process.    

I hope this helps some of you.  Hopefully they’ll start making moves on the tourist visa front soon and you’ll be spared the process entirely. 

Oh, none of the money changers were open when I went through but it was well after dark so nothing unusual there.  The Smart and Globe people were there to sell you a sim if you wanted one.  On a whim I changed some cash in Sydney, glad I did despite the rate thus avoiding the international ATM fees which tend to be even more exorbitant.

The old sailor in me can smell Ermita from here…. 

 

Edited January 17, 2022 by BrettGC

[Clermont]

Very good, and thanks Brett, it all seems pretty straight forward, just a lot of mucking around. I think I'll be getting my PCR test done at the Australian airport it will save a lot of hassle.  

[Onemore52]

Thanks Brett, before the Covid thing started I was in Ermita with a mate who I used to step with, rockers then the Texas Tavern, then finish the morning at the Penis room. Luckily I am too old now, so off to bed I went, with a full wallet.

[Clermont]

1 minute ago, Onemore52 said:

rockers then the Texas Tavern, then finish the morning at the Penis room.

Gee that's showing your age, I can hardly remember them. 

[Onemore52]

1 minute ago, Clermont said:

Gee that's showing your age, I can hardly remember them. 

I omitted the horseshoe bar at the Chevron Hilton.

[BrettGC]

12 minutes ago, Onemore52 said:

Thanks Brett, before the Covid thing started I was in Ermita with a mate who I used to step with, rockers then the Texas Tavern, then finish the morning at the Penis room. Luckily I am too old now, so off to bed I went, with a full wallet.

TT's was once grab a granny, now it's become grab a peer for many of us

[BrettGC]

10 hours ago, Clermont said:

Very good, and thanks Brett, it all seems pretty straight forward, just a lot of mucking around. I think I'll be getting my PCR test done at the Australian airport it will save a lot of hassle.  

Yeah, it's the preparation that's the hassle, changing rules, cancelled flights, officials with a modicum of power wishing to show it.. At both ends.  Hot tip, don't argue with the private security guards doing the screening in Australia, a guy in front of me (funnily enough the same guy that had issues in Manila) called one a "jumped up rent-a-cop".  Not sure how that all started but the feds were all over him like a rash at the first sign of trouble.  

[Clermont]

8 hours ago, BrettGC said:

"jumped up rent-a-cop"

I'm lucky I'm at that age where I can turn my head sideways and take a step into their space while saying UG. They don't like it when you invade their space and step back, that's when you shrug your shoulders and walk off pretending not to hear them. Been dealing with upstarts all my life, they don't know how to handle anyone in public with a hearing impairment.

[Gator]

4 minutes ago, Clermont said:

I'm lucky I'm at that age where I can turn my head sideways and take a step into their space while saying UG. They don't like it when you invade their space and step back, that's when you shrug your shoulders and walk off pretending not to hear them. Been dealing with upstarts all my life, they don't know how to handle anyone in public with a hearing impairment.

Twat did you say? I c*nt hear you! 🤣