Returning Home For The Holidays To Zamboanga City, What To Expect

It has been an annual tradition for me and my partner to visit his family for the holidays.  Since my siblings and Mom are in Canada, they make sure I'm part of his family and not miss out on holiday traditions. 

Coming home this year is extra challenging because of the pandemic.  Travel restrictions has to be satisfied in order to fly.  

Flight schedules are inconsistent.  Make room for adjustments and flexibility in your itinerary.  Our flights was cancelled and moved 3 times before the actual rebooked schedule.

Also, make time to process required documents.  5 working days before departure is ideal.  The requirements are different from different Local Government Units, but Zamboanga City has the following:

The first item we secured was the proof of residency.  This can be in the form of a Barangay Certificate coming from the hometown which can be secured by a relative.  A valid ID with the provincial address is also accepted.

We then applied for a coordination pass through the link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdN3vvyl7KvYAJ6y2fax_tNxqvrg4lIE0U9vKEsDbrptlbbAg/viewform

Included on the attachment requirements is the travel pass, medical certificate, swab result, and valid ID's, but we were able to secure an approval with just the Barangay Certificate uploaded on all the attachment buttons.  The coordination pass was emailed the next day after the application.

The Health Certificate is next, coming from our Barangay Health center in Mandaluyong.  This is a required attachment for the travel pass issued by the City Police Department.  Once we're cleared from the community health center, we then brought the documents to the City Police Department that takes at least 3 days to process.  Be prepared to stand in line for hours since they're the only one allowed to issue the travel pass for all destinations in the country.  The city of Mandaluyong only issues travel pass on a specific travel dates.  It is best to ensure the finality of your flight prior to getting one.

We also had a swab test done 5 days before our flight.  We went to the Philippine Diagnostic Laboratory near NAIA 4 for their standard package that costs 4k and result within 3 days.  The result actually arrived within 2 days so there's no need to rush.  Just make sure the validity is within the requirement of your destination.

On the day of our departure, we arrived at the airport early.  

Make sure to download the Traze App, the contact tracing application used by all airports in the country.  Scanning the QR Code at the doors is required to allow entry.

We had all the documents printed out which was checked by the airline representative at the bag drop counter.  It was surprisingly easy as long as you comply with each item.

We arrived in Zamboanga International Airport as scheduled.