Davao City law: Fake coronavirus test equals criminal cases, jail time, P46,000

DAVAO CITY—Mayor Sara Duterte on Monday (April 12) warned individuals who fake coronavirus test results that they face criminal cases, jail time and hefty fines if caught.

On her Monday program over Davao City Disaster Radio, Duterte said many people had been faking results of tests for SARS Cov2, the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, just to enter the city.

She was referring to at least 10 individuals who had been found to have faked results of reverse transcription-polymerase reaction (RT-PCR) tests for the virus last week in an attempt to enter the city.

Duterte said while she did not want to file criminal charges against those who fake test results, or fine people who do not wear masks, “we need to do it because they violate the law.”

To discourage violators, the city information office posted on the city government’s official Facebook page on Monday the difference between authentic test results and fake ones and the money that violators were likely to spend.

While those who undergo the RT-PCR pay P2,500 to P4,000 per test and those who take the saliva test of the Philippine National Red Cross pay only P2,000, those who would secure fake results risk paying as much as P46,000, according to the mayor.

Although individuals could secure fake documents for P1,000 to P2,000, they risk paying another P4,500 for another test upon arrival in the city and, once detained for faking their test results, they would need to pay another P6,000 to P40,000 for bail, or a total of P46,000.

To prevent another surge of COVID-19 cases here, the city government passed an ordinance requiring incoming airline passengers, who city residents, to present upon arrival test results that would show they are negative of SARS Cov2. The ordinance required the tests to be taken at most 72 hours before the flight.

Also required to present test results are those who use other means of travel, including from other airports, but are found to have come from Metro Manila and Cebu.

Those who fail to secure the tests are made to undergo these upon arrival at their own expense.

Those who present fake results are made to undergo the tests and face criminal complaints in court while those found positive for the virus will have to go on 14-day quarantine before they are allowed to go home.

TSB