In a bid to sustain the recovery of tourism in one of the country’s main tourism destinations, the Department of Tourism (DOT), through the help of the Baguio City local government unit (LGU), will facilitate COVID-19 preparations and training of personnel of the Aklan provincial government and municipal government of Malay

This would include training on case investigation, contact-tracing, referral, and other COVID-19 related operations which will be supervised by the Philippines’ contact tracing czar and Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong.

The mayor joined the heads of the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) in their visit to the island to discuss some concerns with the local heads, including Boracay Inter-Agency Rehabilitation Management Group (BIARMG) General Manager Natividad Bernardino, Aklan Governor Florencio Miraflores, Malay Acting Mayor Frolibar Bautista, and other Boracay stakeholders.

Since its reopening in June, the island has not been spared from quarantine violators, thus, the need to capacitate the LGU in strictly enforcing the health and safety protocols to raise visitor confidence.

“We cannot stress fully enough the importance of showing our seriousness in carrying out our protocols and guidelines. Our local leadership is key in bringing forward our improved image,” tourism chief Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said during Wednesday’s press conference.

The BIATF, chaired by Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu with Puyat and Interior Secretary Eduardo Año serving as vice-chairs, also agreed that the DOT will lead the implementation of low-cost or free reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) for Boracay-bound non-Aklanon tourists in partnership with the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH).

Puyat announced earlier mentioned the ongoing partnership with the UP-PGH for the RT-PCR testing for domestic tourists. The present UP-PGH cost is at P1,800 per kit, much lower than those charged by most of the testing laboratory centers averaging from P4,500. She added that some even charge as high as P10,000 to P11,000 per kit.

The said subsidy will come from DOT’s marketing arm, Tourism Promotion Board (TPB).

The BIATF also agreed that the tourism department will secure at least 1,500 RT-PCR test kits for the implementation of expanded testing in Boracay Island.

In the same meeting, the local government of Aklan also proposed the transition to the use of rapid antigen tests (Ag-RDTs) for the entry of non-Aklanon tourists into Boracay but it will be subjected first to the BIATF’s favorable evaluation of the island’s contact-tracing capability and implementation of health and safety protocols.

Resort owners in Boracay had earlier appealed to the national government to allow antigen testing as the main requirement for tourist travel as the cost of the “gold standard” RT-PCR test remains deterrent to travel amid its prohibitive cost, thus, the slow visitors’ arrivals on the island.

Meanwhile, the Department of Tourism (DOT) announced it will subsidize low-cost testing for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) for tourists wanting to visit world-famous Boracay Island in Malay town, Aklan province.

“It is our wish to make more affordable tests to encourage more visits ,” said Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat in a statement released Thursday, December 3.

Puyat disclosed DOT has a partnership with University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital (UP-PGH) to partly subsidize the cost of reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests or most commonly known as swab tests.
Boracay’s tourist arrivals are still low since the national government is requiring incoming tourists who are not residents of Aklan provine to present COVID-19 test results.

This prompted Aklan Governor Florencio Miraflores and Mayor Frolibar Bautista of Malay town to call on the national government to allow rapid tests, which are much more cheaper than swab tests.

This is different from the COVID-19 swab tests that are pushed for by the Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF), which is also comprised of Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG).

DOT will partially shoulder the procurement of an initial 1,500 swab test kits created by UP-PGH. The Tourism Promotion Board (TPB), which is DOT’s marketing arm, will buy each swab test kit at the cost of P1,800.

Attachments area

Hanah Tabios & Tara Yap

Baguio City assists in COVID-19 response training for Boracay; DOT to subsidize tests for tourists