More than 13,000 local tourists to benefit from 50% COVID-19 swab test discount

The Philippine Children’s Medical Center (File photo by LYN RILLON / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — More than 13,000 domestic tourists will benefit from the 50-percent discount on COVID-19 swab testing, a repetition of a joint project between the Department of Tourism (DOT) and Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC).

The Tourism Promotions Board of the DOT and the PCMC signed an agreement on the project that will give a 50-percent discount to 13,333 qualified domestic tourists from July to December, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said in a statement issued on Wednesday.

“We are pushing for these initiatives to help our economy recover and we are optimistic that more industry stakeholders, local government units, and agencies will work hand-in-hand with us on this endeavor,” Puyat said.

The earlier project of the DOT and the PCMC provided a swab test discount to some 15,000 tourists from January to June.

The program was suspended when the National Capital Region Plus — composed of Metro Manila and the adjacent provinces Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal — was reverted to the strictest enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in late March.

The subsidy was only resumed in June when the national government approved leisure travel for persons of all ages between the so-called NCR Plus bubble and areas under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ).

READ: DOT resumes 50% swab test subsidy for qualified domestic tourists

Local travelers who wish to avail of DOT’s 50 percent swab test subsidy get more details at this link: TPB Advisory.

The DOT requires a valid government-issued identification card, proof of hotel booking in a DOT-accredited accommodation establishment, and proof of mode of travel such as an airline or a bus ticket.

The PCMC will accept swab test applications on a first-come, first-served basis.

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