Palawan tourist towns tighten validation to stop use of fake coronavirus test result
CORON and El Nido, two of the most popular tourist destinations in Palawan, are tightening rules on the online pre-registration of visitors to ensure that those coming in with a fake coronavirus test result will be blocked. In separate statements on Tuesday, the local tourism offices of the two towns issued notices of adjustments on the application for a QR-coded ID for tourists coming from outside Palawan. “Effective Thursday Mar. 18, 2021, before the issuance of a QR CODE at www.corontourism.ph, all QR code applications shall be validated first by EOC (Emergency Operations Center) Coron. Once validated, expect your QR code from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm via electronic mail,” Coron said. Further, the town will only accept a negative RT PCR test result with a QR code from a Department of Health-accredited laboratory or a negative saliva test result with QR code from Philippine Red Cross, with samples taken 72 hours before the flight. El Nido, on the other hand, said, “Due to the increasing incidents of RT-PCR test results falsification, we encourage tourists from outside Palawan to apply for QR-coded tourist IDs at least 12 hours prior departure to Palawan.” A tourist who arrived in Coron on Mar. 9 was caught with a falsified result after the monitoring team of Quezon City, where he is a resident, informed the Coron local government that he just tested positive for the virus. The Coron EOC immediately launched contact tracing procedures and all primary and secondary contacts later tested negative. The 24-year old violator will be facing penalties of up to P50,000 and possible jail time based on Republic Act No. 11332 or the Mandatory Reporting of Notifiable Diseases and Health Events of Public Health Concern Act. The Department of Tourism, in a statement on Monday, reiterated its call for responsible travel and reminded the public of the subsidized RT-PCR testing available at the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital. — MSJ
Better fish catch, tourism income in Misamis Oriental diving town with MPIF’s marine guardians program
THE small coastal town of Medina in the northern part of Mindanao has seen improved fish catch and additional income from dive tourism since launching a marine protection program in partnership with Metro Pacific Investments Foundation (MPIF). “For three years that we have been together with MPIC, we have internalized the real purpose and intention of the program,” Mayor Donato N. Chan said in a statement from the foundation following a recent assessment on the project that was launched in 2018. “It is not just in the abundance of fish catch. We also take pride in establishing the Marine Protected Area and the system we have done with the support of MPIC to enrich our marine lives in the municipality,” the mayor said. One village also reported a P1.7 million annual income contribution from organized tourist boat operators. The project is under MPIC’s “Shore It Up!” program wherein it partners with local governments for protection initiatives such as setting up a team of marine resource guardians among the fisherfolk, provision of equipment, capacity building and allowances. MPIF is the corporate social responsibility arm of MPIC, one of three Philippine subsidiaries of Hong Kong’s First Pacific Co. Ltd., the others being PLDT, Inc. and Philex Mining Corp. Hastings Holdings, Inc., a unit of PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund subsidiary MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., maintains an interest in BusinessWorld through the Philippine Star Group.