The House Foreign Affairs Committee has approved a resolution calling on the Department of State (DFA) to request the United States government to include the Philippines in the list of countries whose citizens may visit Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands without obtaining a visa.

The panel, chaired by Pangasinan Rep. Maria Rachel Arenas, ratified the adoption of the measure under Committee Report 1099 in the plenary session of the House of Representatives.

According to the resolution, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security operates a program called the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program, which allows holders of valid passports from 12 pre-approved countries to enter Guam and/or the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI) without a visa and stay for up to 45 days for business or pleasure.

The list of countries approved for the Guam-CNMI program includes Australia, Brunei, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Nauru, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.