Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat. (File photo courtesy of the Department of Tourism)
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism (DOT) is checking other hotels that may have allowed guests to skip quarantine protocols, Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said Thursday.
“We’ve heard many stories of a modus operandi wherein an individual would just make payments… And then they will just have their swab test on the fifth day [of their supposed quarantine]… But they don’t check in,” Puyat said in Filipino in an interview aired over AM radio station DZBB.
Previously, she said the DOT would get tips on similar cases, but those who approached them would often fail to disclose the names of individuals and the quarantine hotels involved.
But recently, the DOT was tipped off that at least two hotels were involved in the alleged practice, according to Puyat.
“There are two as of now. They’re not big hotels. But it doesn’t matter whether they are big or small,” she said.
“We have to verify… catch them in the act. But the majority [of hotels] follow. [T]here are just a few bad eggs,” she also said in a separate text message to INQUIRER.net.
According to Puyat, the DOT, which continues to verify reports it receives, is coordinating with the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) on the matter.
“Right now…many have been reporting to us. So we are all verifying. They are giving us the names of the hotels…We are working with the DILG and the PNP so we can catch them. But they need to be caught in the act,” she added.
The DOT recently ordered a hotel to explain a recent incident wherein one of their guests who had returned from the United States skipped quarantine.
READ: DOT: Filipina from US with ‘connections’ skipped quarantine, partied in Makati