Going viral over the weekend was 26-year-old nurse Alyssa Legaspi's Facebook post on fake negative RT-PCR results. "I needed a facility that can do home service with fast results and can be booked that day or the next day," she tells Manila Bulletin Lifestyle.

"I found this facebook group called 'Swab Testing Community—Philippines' and saw a girl that posted the same inquiry that I had," she continues. This prompted her to leave an inquiry that led to a certain 'Xavier Sy' offering his services. "He mentioned that he has a friend in 'PGH-UP Diliman' and that we don’t need to go to the clinic. He said that everything will be processed online and payment is via gcash."

She then proceeded to ask him if this is a home service procedure to which he replied no need. She also checked his Facebook profile page and realized that it was a dummy account. By then, she knew that this was a scam.

"As a healthcare worker myself, I cannot believe that this is happening," she says. "Our world is already suffering. Offering and accepting fake negative RT-PCR results would not help us to recover. There are a lot of people who need help right now. Let us help them by being honest and through prayers."

She shared some more tips on deciphering if these tests are fake such as QR code that come with the test results. They should also have a proper website and should also be DOH-accredited, so do your research. "For example, PGH already posted a link on where you can verify your test results."

Producing fake RT-PCR test results is considered "a crime punishable under Republic Act 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act which provides for penalties 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.”