President Bongbong Marcos is confident that the Chinese government won’t allow Covid-19 infected travelers to go outside their country, prompting the country to “watch and wait” before considering imposing stricter requirements for travelers from China.

“Hindi naman immediate na makakapagbiyahe na ang mga Chinese national kaya siguro, in the meantime, we just watch and wait,” Marcos said when asked by reporters if the Philippines would implement stricter requirements for Chinese travelers.

“I’m sure na hindi naman sila magpapaalis ng tao na positive,” the president added.

Meanwhile, Marcos said Filipinos residing in China are doing well.

“There are no outstanding problems in terms of the — our Filipino nationals here in China. They have made their way here at marami doon — in fact, a few of the briefers that came for the roundtable meeting were Filipino already because they work for these Chinese companies and they have been asked to establish offices in the Philippines,” he said.

“The Chinese people have treated us like neighbors, like brothers. So we do not have any particular problems in that regard,” he added.

What worries the president was several diplomats and staff of the Philippine embassy and consulates in China who have contracted coronavirus infection days before the state visit.

Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo earlier reported there is about 22 personnel of the Philippine Embassy in China who were infected two weeks ago but have already recovered from the disease.

“So I think we have found a way around the lockdown which is really what they are undergoing right now, and well-attended to by the local officials in terms of their health,” Marcos said.

The World Health Organization alleged China for under-declaring infections in its Covid-19 data following the lifting of its zero COVID policy in December last year.

This comes after several international media outlets published a leaked document from China’s National Health Commission that showed some 37 million people have tested positive for coronavirus disease in China