6 Boracay tourists face raps over fake COVID-19 tests

ILOILO CITY—Six friends are facing criminal charges for allegedly presenting falsified results of COVID-19 tests so they could visit Boracay Island in Aklan province.

The group, composed of four women and two men from Metro Manila, was “extracted” by police from their hotel rooms in Boracay on Dec. 7 after authorities confirmed that five of the six reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results were forged. “They first refused to go out of their rooms but were warned that they would be taken from their rooms,” said lawyer Selwyn Ibarreta, administrator of the Caticlan port in Malay, Aklan, and head of the provincial COVID-19 Technical Working Group.

The tourists, who arrived on Dec. 5, were supposed to leave the island on Dec. 8.

They were taken to the provincial quarantine facility in the capital town of Kalibo where they would be quarantined for 14 days. Their swab specimens were taken for testing.

Warning

“This serves as a warning to others who have similar plans that we will apprehend and file criminal charges against violators,” Ibarreta said.Police Lt. Col. Jonathan Pablito, Malay police chief, said complaints for violation of Republic Act No. 11332 (Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act) and falsification of documents would be filed against the six tourists on Wednesday.Tourists bound for Boracay Island must submit a negative RT-PCR test result released within 72 hours before their trip so they can be issued a quick reaction (QR) code to enter the resort island. An RT-PCR test costs at least P3,000 per person.Ibarreta said the provincial tourism office received an email alerting its personnel on the six tourists traveling with fake RT-PCT test results. Only one of them submitted a genuine RT-PCR test result, it turned out. The laboratory that issued the test result confirmed that the five other tourists were not their clients and that the five fake results were copied from the authentic document, Ibarreta said.

Arrivals up

Tourists have been arriving in Boracay since it reopened to visitors from Western Visayas on June 16 and from other areas on Oct. 1.The number of visitors from Dec. 1 to Dec. 5 reached 1,646, data from the Malay tourism office showed. It was 397 on Dec. 3, 430 on Dec. 4, and 482 on Dec. 5.While the figure was way below the 3,000-5,000 daily visitors before the COVID-19 pandemic, business operators and residents dependent on tourists for their livelihood were hopeful that the coming holidays would bring in more tourists.More establishments, including hotels and resorts, were also opening on the island.As of Dec. 3, the Department of Tourism had issued certificates of authority to operate 259 establishments with 5,864 rooms.

A group of 20 top hotels and resorts under “One Boracay” has started the “Boracay Better Than Ever” marketing campaign to encourage tourists to visit.

The hotels are offering buy-now-travel-later promotional packages from Nov. 26 to Dec. 12 valid for a year. These include discounted rates of up to 70 percent on room, spa packages, and food and beverage rates. INQ