THE Provincial Government of Negros Occidental will no longer file charges against a couple in Pontevedra who misdeclared themselves as locally stranded individuals (LSIs).
Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson on Wednesday, February 17, 2021, said he decided to forgive the couple and their son after they sent him a letter asking for forgiveness.
The couple was returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs) in the documents, but they misdeclared themselves in the documents they submitted when they returned to the province early this year.
"I felt their sincerity," the governor said after his decision not to file charges against them.
Lacson added that the couple "did not realize the gravity of their actions."
"They probably thought that to make things easier and, eventually, they realize their mistakes," Lacson said, adding that with remorse, they asked for apologies.
The couple with their son who came from London and traveled via Istanbul, Turkey on December 30, 2020, arrived in Bacolod via AirAsia on January 16, 2021.
After undergoing mandatory swabbing at the Bacolod-Silay Airport, the couple tested positive for coronavirus.
Their son tested negative.
Lacson said what they did was against public health protocols.
He warned Negrenses who wanted to return to the province not to repeat what the Pontevedra couple did.
"What happened to them is enough warning to those who will try again," he said.