Fil-Ams will still come to watch ‘Dinagyang’

By: Alex P. Vidal

“It has been said that a pretty face is a passport. But it’s not, it’s a visa, and it runs out fast.” — Julie Burchill

THE “tit for tat” response of the Duterte administration on Uncle Sam’s decision to ban from entering the United States government officials responsible for the continued incarceration of Sen. Leila de Lima has sent shivers down the spine of many Filipino-Americans (Fil-Ams) who regularly go home to the Philippines.

Although the Duterte administration has banned only the US senators who pushed for the Bill that resulted in the enforcement of the travel ban on Filipino politicians involved in De Lima’s jailing, it also announced that American citizens entering the country would be required to have a travel visa.

But we received reports that the Philippine government “won’t be harsh” on Fil-Ams scheduled to visit the Philippines this year to watch and participate in prominent religious and cultural festivals like the Dinagyang in Iloilo City, Ati-Atihan in Aklan, Sinulog in Cebu, among other popular destinations for celebration of the feast of Señor Santo Niño in the month of January.

The Philippines will be in the receiving end if its top leaders mishandle this conundrum with the US government in this David vs Goliath diplomatic row.

The religious and cultural festivals we mentioned to be held in the different regions are among the top drawers of balikbayans who are mostly coming from the United States.

They shouldn’t be caught in the crossfire with their vacations disrupted only because our top government officials have chosen to trade tongs and hammer against mighty America instead of silently settling the problem and avoiding a potential catastrophic diplomatic crisis.

 

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US citizens have access to 184 countries and territories without a travel visa or with a visa on arrival as of October 1, 2019, it was learned.

Of the countries that do not require a travel visa, some have different time frames after which a passport is reportedly required.

These time frames can be 30, 60, 90, or 180 days and so on or unlimited, according to the World Population Review (WPR).

Because of the high number of countries that US citizens can travel to without a visa, it’s simpler to mention some of the ones that do require a visa.

Here’s what we have learned more from the WPR: US citizens do not need a tourist visa to enter any of the 28 countries that are European Union members.

This includes the United Kingdom, which is possibly leaving the European Union, and US citizens will not need a visa either way. If a US citizen wants to travel to Russia, however, a visa is required, can take up to three weeks to process, and costs $139.

In countries where visas are required, travelers are subject to registration fees, departure taxes and fees, fingerprinting, and being photographed.

 

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Additionally, the WPR added, some countries, such as Chad, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Niger, require an International Certificate of Vaccination.

In Libya, Sudan, and Syria, anyone with Israeli entry or exit stamps on their passport may be denied entry into the country.

China requires a travel visa for US citizens. The application must include travel dates, itinerary, and proof of onward travel out of China and the application must be typed with no handwritten corrections. Additionally, every visitor between the ages of 14 and 70 is fingerprinted upon arrival and departure.

US citizens are not permitted to travel to North Korea, with or without a visa.

The travel ban took effect in 2017 after a United States student died after being released from a North Korean prison. Failure to adhere to the rules can result in criminal penalties and having one’s passport revoked.

In order to travel to North Korea, US passport holders would need to obtain a special passport validation from the United States government.

(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor of two local dailies in Iloilo)