MANILA, Feb. 7 -- The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is ready to process more than 1 million Philippine visas annually as pandemic restrictions continue to ease.

In a press briefing on Wednesday, DFA Office of Consular Affairs Visa Section Director Leilani Feliciano said the country was able to issue at least 1.62 million visas in 2019.

"We have issued 1.6 million Philippine visas to foreign tourists and travelers in 2019. It's just that during the pandemic, everything has significantly declined," she said. "We have the capacity to process and issue visas and go back to that pre-pandemic level."

In 2020, visa issuances went down to 159,440 as governments across the world imposed travel restrictions due to the coronavirus disease 2...