Filipinos fully vaccinated against the coronavirus will be allowed entry to Singapore starting March 4, the Singaporean Ministry of Transport announced.

This was after the city-state included the Philippines in its Vaccinated Travel Lane (VTL) program, which allows passengers to enter Singapore quarantine-free via designated VTL flights.

Vaccine travel pass (VTP) applications for the Philippines will open on March 1 at 10 a.m. (Singapore time).

“In late November, when Omicron was first reported, we tightened our border measures to limit our exposure, better understand the new variant, and get more people boosted. Now that we have greater certainty over the nature of Omicron and the associated public health risks, it is important that we want to resume the safe reopening of our borders to reclaim our position as a global business and aviation hub,” Singapore Minister for Transport S Iswaran said in a statement dated February 16.

“We will be launching new VTLs to Philippines, Israel and Hong Kong and deepen existing VTLs with Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand,” he said.

The new Singaporean policy for Filipinos comes less than a week since the Philippines reopened its doors to fully vaccinated foreign tourists, including Singaporeans. (PNA)