The Philippine government has decided to lift the travel restrictions imposed against Taiwan due to the Wuhan Corona Virus, following an internal debate, capping off a week of uncertainty over the fate of travel ties between the two countries amid the corona virus epidemic.

Philippine presidential spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo confirmed in a statement Friday evening that the Philippines has lifted the travel ban imposed Feb. 10, effective immediately.

Earlier in the day, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) had said that a travel ban motivated by political considerations would be unacceptable.

Manila’s initial decision to include Taiwan in the ban was widely seen as the result of Chinese pressure to consider China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan as one entity.

According to Philippine presidential spokesperson Salvador S. Panelo, the lifting of travel restrictions for Taiwan has been “agreed by the members of the IATF by reason of the strict measures they are undertaking, as well as the protocols they are implementing to address the corona virus epidemic.

It did not make reference to the Philippines' one-China policy, which was cited as the basis of Taiwan's inclusion in the travel ban covering China, Macau and Hong Kong on Feb. 10.

Taiwan has a significant population of migrant workers from the Philippines, whose livelihood might have been threatened by their government’s decision.

Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) lauded Manila’s decision and called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to end any unfair descriptions of the island and to put professionalism and impartiality before politics.