Overview:
A Vanuatu journalist traveling to Palau to cover the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting was denied entry and sent back to Manila, leaving him facing uncertainty over his route home and warning he could run out of money for food if the issue is not resolved by Aug. 30.
By L.N. Reklai
KOROR, Palau (Aug. 27, 2026) — “If the problem is not solved by the 30th, I will not have money for food,” Vanuatu Daily Post journalist Hilaire Molbah said after he was denied entry to Palau and sent back to Manila, leaving him facing uncertainty over how he will return home.
Molbah arrived in Palau early Thursday from Manila, Philippines, intending to cover the 55th Pacific Islands Forum Leaders Meeting as part of Pacific media coverage sponsored by the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat.
He was reportedly denied entry because he did not have the pre-arrival approval required under Palau Presidential Executive Order 499.
The executive order requires citizens of 12 countries to obtain pre-approval or a visa before boarding a flight to Palau. Vanuatu is the only Pacific country on the list, which also includes Iran, Myanmar, Nigeria, North Korea, St. Kitts and Nevis, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Haiti, Ghana, Cameroon and Sri Lanka.
President Surangel Whipps Jr. said at a Feb. 11 news conference that Vanuatu was added to the list because of concerns that the country was selling passports to people who are not native Vanuatu citizens.
Under EO 499, airlines are prohibited from boarding travelers from the listed countries unless they have a Pre-Clearance Confirmation Letter issued by Palau’s Bureau of Customs and Border Protection.
Molbah said the airline cleared him to board his flight from home and did not inform him that he needed a pre-clearance letter before traveling to Palau.
After being denied entry, Molbah was sent back to Manila on the same flight. He said he was told he could return home on Aug. 30, but the journey has since become uncertain.
“I was told I could return home with same ticket on the 30th,” Molbah said. “I am supposed to fly from Manila to Taiwan and Taiwan to Hong Kong and then Hong Kong to Fiji and Fiji home.”
At Manila’s transit counter, however, he was told he could not transit through Taiwan because Taiwanese authorities had placed him on an undesirable list following the incident in Palau.
“They say I could fly to Hong Kong but if Hong Kong does not accept me, it will be a big problem,” he said.
The situation has left the journalist facing a financial dilemma. Molbah said he was stranded at Manila airport and worried that he would run out of money for basic necessities if the issue was not resolved before his scheduled departure.
“If the problem is not solved by the 30th, I will not have money for food,” he said.
Molbah said he had contacted the Philippine Embassy in Vanuatu, which is also coordinating with the Philippine Embassy in Manila.
The case also raises questions about the application of exceptions contained in EO 499.
The order provides for emergency or exceptional circumstances, including the acceptance of applications up to 24 hours before departure. It also allows the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection to conduct a rapid review and “conduct real-time assessment and issue a decision within 2 hours.”
Molbah was sent back to Manila without, according to the information available, being considered under those exceptional-circumstances provisions.
His case demonstrates the difficult position faced by a Pacific journalist traveling on an official regional media assignment: despite being cleared to board by his airline and traveling to Palau to cover one of the Pacific’s most significant regional gatherings, he was unable to enter the country because he did not have the required pre-clearance approval and was left navigating a complicated and potentially costly journey home.