Okay, I haven't been very polite...
Here is the deal and for everybody who doesn't know yet:
Around Dec 20 2020 President Duterte ordered a travel ban for (in total) more than 20
countries in which COVID-19 mutations had been discovered.
This weekend the travel ban was released a bit and oversea worker (Filipinos) and spouses of Filipino citizen are allowed to enter the country now (again), departing from the above mentioned countries. I'm not sure if the
USA has been on this list (yet) but the following applies to everybody entering the
Philippines.
Link:
https://www.sunstar.com.ph/article/1...-to-end-Jan-31
When attempting or planing to travel to the Philippines foreigners have to undergo a COVID-19 swab test and to do 14 days minimum quarantine in selected Hotels or Pension houses in Manila, Cebu or Clark. These hotels are not the usual 'barato' places where you can check in for 10-15 bucks per night. They take at least (so my informant in Manila says) 2k5 PHP (55-60 $US) per night. The
food is also expensive in these accommodations, so nothing for 'cheap charlies'.
You can find the lists with the hotels/pension houses on the government's website.
To ease things up (or it could be even mandatory, I'm not sure) you should apply for a visa at the Philippines Embassy while still in your country.
Hope this helps.
And I cancelled my flight for Feb 1 two weeks ago.