Philippines cracks down on one-way tickets

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

Former Philippines citizens who are now Americans have been warned that they no longer will be allowed to enter the Philippines on a one-way ticket because Philippine government officials are tightening enforcement of immigration rules.

The crackdown will affect primarily Philippines-born senior citizens who often want to retire in their homeland, say travel agents and airline staffers, who added that younger people also sometimes rush overseas for family emergencies on a one-way ticket.

The Philippines foreign affairs office and immigration bureau have dispatched a warning that the government would strictly enforce an existing requirement that temporary visitors entering the country carry a ticket to return or continue to another destination.

That warning is being channeled through consulates; the Consulate General of the Philippines in Honolulu is spreading the word through the media and travel agencies here, consulate officials said.

In Hawai'i, most Philippine-born travelers on vacation purchase return tickets because they're cheaper, but there are many with family ties in the Philippines who occasionally must make a sudden trip, said Rolando Gregorio, consul general in Honolulu.

"Sometimes these people have to go home on emergency, and considering that they can be financed by relatives when they get there for the return, they sometimes only get a one-way ticket," Gregorio said.

Gregorio said that the government is not cracking down for any specific reason but only because immigration authorities have received queries about the uneven enforcement and want to send out a clear signal about the rule.

Filipinos with family ties in the Philippines may be accustomed to casual traveling, but concerns over terrorism make many countries more wary, said Danny Casey, president of the Hawai'i chapter of the American Society of Travel Agents.

"I'm sure there are a lot of people buying one-way tickets because they aren't sure when they're going to be back," Casey said. "And there's usually a maximum-stay restriction on the ticket, depending on the fare, so they don't want to buy a return."

Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.