With NCR now under general quarantine community (GCQ) classification, Manila’s tourist destination the Walled City of Intramuros has opened Fort Santiago and Baluarte de San Diego to visitors.
The two most popular sites inside Intramuros are open to visitors on a limited capacity and on shortened operating hours under still strict health and safety guidelines, according to Department of Tourism (DOT) Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat.
The Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) has already placed the National Capital Region (NCR) and the provinces of Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal, collectively known as NCR Plus, under a general community quarantine (GCQ) with heightened restrictions.
Based on the guidelines of the IATF, tourist attractions can now operate at 30 percent of the venue capacity and subject to strict compliance to health and safety protocols.
“The reopening of Fort Santiago and Baluarte San Diego will allow visitors to again experience the World’s Leading Tourist Attraction as recognized by the prestigious World Tourism Awards,” Puyat said in a statement.
The Intramuros Administration (IA), an attached agency of the DOT, manages the restoration and orderly development of the Walled City, which was visited by 3.3 million people in 2019.
But during this pandemic, Fort Santiago will accommodate only 200 visitors, while the Baluarte de San Diego will allow a maximum of 100 persons at a time, which are both below the 30-percent threshold but are deemed essential to ensure monitoring of proper protocols.
Fort Santiago will be open daily from 9 a.m. with last entry for visitors at 6:30 p.m. The Baluarte de San Diego garden will be open to the general public from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Entrance fee, which may be paid in cash or via Beep card or PayMaya, is PHP75.
Seniors, students and persons with disabilities may pay the discounted price of PHP50. It is limited to visitors aged 18 to 65 in compliance with the age restrictions set by the IATF.
Fort Santiago features well-preserved legacies from the Spanish colonial period including memorabilia of José Rizal, its most famous prisoner, at the Rizal Shrine and a replica of his ancestral house in Laguna province.
Baluarte de San Diego is a sturdy structure that was constructed as part of the fortifications of the Walled City and was primarily designed to repel invasions.
