BY HANAH TABIOS
The Department of Tourism (DoT), which serves as co-vice chair of the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF), reported the apprehension of the six local tourists who presented fake COVID-19 test results upon entry in Boracay Island on Saturday.
The four female and two male tourists from Metro Manila are now facing criminal charges for allegedly falsifying COVID-19 test results so they could visit the world-famed island.
They were supposed to leave Boracay on Tuesday.
They were arrested by the police after authorities confirmed that five of the six reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results were forged.
Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat commended the swift action of the Aklan provincial police in dealing with the suspects.
She said that similar malicious actions will not be condoned as they undermine the collaborative efforts at protecting and reviving Boracay tourism.
Early this month, the DoT announced its partnership with the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) to partly subsidize its RT-PCR test worth P1,800 for Boracay-bound tourists in order to make affordable travel to the island.
The tourism chief further urges the stakeholders and visitors alike to keep the country’s banner destination COVID-19 free by strictly adhering to the health and safety protocols. (Hanah Tabios)
