DOT probes breach of protocol in Boracay

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism (DOT) on Wednesday said it was investigating the alleged breach of travel restrictions in Boracay on June 12, four days before the resort island was reopened to local tourists from Western Visayas.

A local journalist in Panay reported that a female employee of the Bureau of Fire Protection had partied on the island with several others while waiting for the results of her COVID-19 test.

She later tested positive for the virus.

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said the agency had initiated procedures to revoke the accreditation of the resort that housed the group before the island’s official reopening.

Local officials have done contact tracing, while the staff and management of the resort are now on strict quarantine, she added.

—Jerome Aning