(TAN): Philippines’ tourism department has filed charges against six Manila-based tourists who were arrested in January for furnishing fake Covid-19 test documents, the government said in a statement.
“We laud the recent parallel actions of the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) and the Aklan and Malay local government units (LGUs) to reinforce IATF MEID (Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases) regulations and health and safety protocols for the protection of guests, workers and host communities. We will continue to be vigilant and ensure that these collaborative interventions will deter entry of such delinquent and unwanted visitors. This is how serious the DOT is in the enforcement of existing health and safety rules,” Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo said.
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The department of tourism (DOT) said it welcomes the DILG directive to the Philippine National Police (PNP) to arrest and prosecute individuals who are forging their RT-PCR tests. The DILG stressed that it is a crime punishable under Republic Act (RA) No. 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act which provides for penalties of PHP 20,000 (USD 413) but not more than PHP 50,000 or imprisonment of not less than one month but not more than six months, or both fine and imprisonment, at the discretion of the court.
“In anticipation of the further relaxation of regulations governing inter- and intra-regional movements, the LGUs should be prepared to address an increase in the number of applications and visits. Enforcement is key and we must all do our share in keeping Boracay safe,” the secretary said.
Boracay received 11,898 visitors in January 2021 alone, with an average 300 to 400 tourists a day.
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