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Manila Bulletin devider Lifestyle devider The government will take care of half of your RT PCR test so you can travel

The government will take care of half of your RT PCR test so you can travel

Published Jun 10, 2021 11:00 am

DOT-TPB resumes 50 percent RT-PCR test subsidy for qualified domestic tourists

Making traveling around the Philippines one step easier

The Department of Tourism (DOT) announced last June 2, 2021 that it would resume subsidizing the 50 percent RT-PCR testing for qualified domestic tourists, through the Tourism Promotions Board (TPB) Philippines, the marketing and promotions arm of DOT, following the decision of the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) to allow leisure travel for persons of all ages between the NCR Plus bubble and areas under Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ).

Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat says that the move is expected to further help bring the tourism industry back on its feet.

“The Philippine tourism industry has been adversely affected by the pandemic. The subsidy aims to encourage domestic travel by aiding the tourists in fulfilling the RT-PCR test requirement, and to enable them to visit their destination of choice at a lesser cost,” Puyat says, stressing that the increased number of travelers could help boost consumer spending, which in turn could hasten economic recovery. “We at the DOT are doing whatever we can to help the industry and its stakeholders recoup their losses and ensure security and sustainability amid this pandemic.”

The TPB has an agreement with two government hospitals and their accredited COVID-19 laboratories for the subsidized RT-PCR testing program—the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) in Manila and the Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC) in Quezon City.

Domestic tourists who meet the basic requirements of having confirmed round trip transportation tickets and a booking confirmation with a DOT-accredited accommodation establishment will be able to avail of this program.

The subsidy program costs P35.17 million for the whole year. The current agreement of the TPB with the UP-PGH and PCMC runs from January to June 2021, with the UP-PGH and PCMC receiving P9.99 million and P8.70 million, respectively, benefiting 22,711 domestic travelers.

The TPB is set to ink a new Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the PCMC to extend the RT-PCR Subsidy Program from July 1 to Dec. 31, 2021, to benefit 13,333 local tourists.

To apply for the 50 percent RT-PCR test subsidy for tourists, visit: https://www.tpb.gov.ph/rtpcrphtravel/

Related Tags

rt pcr test wellbeing DOT Travel
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