The Department of Tourism (DOT) gave props Monday, Feb. 15 to the local government unit (LGU) of Malay, Aklan for its vigilance against Boracay -bound local tourists who fake their coronavirus disease (COVID-19) test results.
"We laud the recent parallel actions of the DILG (Department of Interior and Local Government) and the Aklan and Malay 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," Puyat said in a statement.
"We will continue to be vigilant and ensure that these collaborative interventions will deter entry of such delinquent and unwanted visitors," she vowed.
Earlier this month, local officials of Malay in Aklan province proposed a three-year ban for tourists coming to Boracay Island with fake test results.
This, after local authorities nabbed last Jan. 21 six tourists for falsifying the results of their reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests.
Based on records of the Malay Municipal Health Office, more than 100 tourists have been caught with fake COVID-19 test results since early December.
A negative RT-PCR test result released within 72 hours is one of the travel requirements for tourists going to Boracay.
With this, the DILG directed the Philippine National Police to arrest and prosecute tourists found forging their RT-PCR tests, adding that it is a "crime punishable under our law."
Violators face a fine of P20,000 but not more than P50,000, 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.