DFA concerned over Filipinos being barred from entering Saudi Arabia

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) on Monday expressed concern over reports of Filipinos being barred entry in Saudi Arabia due to coronavirus disease (COVID-19) concerns.

DFA Assistant Secretary Ed Meñez said the agency is already coordinating with the Saudi Arabian government to clarify the scope of restrictions after it announced the ban of people coming for “Umrah” (pilgrimage).

“We’re quite concerned about reports of the Saudi government’s actions with regard to this particular COVID-19 issue. We understand that the government announced that they would be rejecting Umrah, pilgrims would not be allowed to come to the country,” Meñez said in a press briefing in Malacañang.

“Our embassy in Riyadh is closely monitoring the situation at yun nga, may mga reports din na maski yung hindi covered ng Umrah or tourist visas, may mga reports na hindi sila pinapasok sa bansa,” Meñez added.

(Our embassy in Riyadh is closely monitoring the situation and there are reports that even those who are not covered by Umrah or those with tourist visas are not being allowed entry into the country.)

Saudi Arabia earlier announced the suspension of entry for pilgrims heading to the kingdom for “Umrah” in a bid to contain COVID-19.

“I can only imagine that because of the action taken by the Saudi Arabian government, perhaps may mga lag time or misunderstanding with the scope of their regulations. We hope to clarify all of these reports and be able to inform the public kung ano po talaga ang existing policy ng bansang iyon (about the country’s existing policy),” Meñez said.

House Minority Leader Bienvenido Abante Jr. earlier said he was barred entry from boarding his flight to Saudi Arabia from United Arab Emirates, which reportedly has over 20 confirmed COVID-19 cases.

But Abante said he should not have been covered by the travel ban since he was travelling on an official mission with a diplomatic passport.