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Sunday, October 10, 2021

Preparations, Going Home from Singapore to the Philippines

I could now feel our time in Singapore slipping away like sand in an hourglass. I originally wanted to visit our favorite spots before going home. We're just staying home since there's a surge of cases (almost 4k per day now). Just focusing now on sorting stuff, packing and preparing documents. 

Yup, our home is a huge mess right now. The mover required us to make an inventory of what's going to be packed. It's hard! It's challenging, but it's a good exercise to do since it forces you to take into account what you own. I have finally been able to collate all my supplies and realized I do own too many pairs of scissors! This week I'll pack up my Yoda collection once my arm isn't sore anymore from the vaxx. 

The biggest challenge is figuring out what you need to complete for paperwork. We booked our flight and hotel two months ago. I was hoping that they would be able to provide updated guidelines, but they're not updated. There was a huge announcement last Friday by the IATF and I had to scour through different government websites to get answers. 

Here's what we've done so far:

1. Book flight and check airline policies on swab requirements. Philippine government does not require a negative RT-PCR test, but your airline might require it (source).
2. Book hotel - check list of Bureau of Quarantine accredited hotels here. Go through the multitude of PDFs the hotel will send you. Pre-print everything and make sure they get your names right.
3. Get a mover - you can either ship it via a company like Asian Tigers or do piece-meal via LBC or Jolly-B.
4. Register on One Health Pass
5. Two days before your flight get a PCR test at an accredited center (we'll probably go to Raffles for this). 
6. Day before your flight register for e-HDC.

The question I had a hard time getting an answer to is whether I needed to get my vaccination certificate by Philippine Overseas Labor Office (POLO) validated. The Philippine Embassy's page on validation of vaccination certificate was inaccessible. Luckily I found the email of POLO and got an auto-responder. The answer is NO, you don't need to have your vaccination certificate validated. I hope the Philippine Embassy in Singapore will update their guidelines soon. 

It's quite overwhelming! I'm only able to do physical activities an hour or two a day, so Sweetie's the one getting a huge work-out with packing. I've been the one taking care of the documents and bookings. This is reminding me of the months we prepared for our wedding haha. And when we get home I'll need to find new doctors and prepare for Christmas! Whew!

For updates about our trip back home, follow me on my FB page and YouTube channel :)

Happy Sunday everyone! 

**Updated blog post at http://aileenapolo.blogspot.com/2021/10/updated-protocols-going-home-from.html

Important sites for OFWs:
POLO Singapore email - polosgvaccinationverif@yahoo.com

CB////*Yr2/182 #StuckAtHomeDay/Yr2/203 #NewG265 #Home24 #Xmas76 #StayHome #BeKind




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