AT LEAST three Filipino tourists were nabbed by Malay police Wednesday morning, July 14, 2021.
According to a report reaching the Police Regional Office (PRO)-Western Visayas, the three suspects were arrested while they were strolling the beach in Boracay around 9 a.m.
The PRO-Western Visayas identified the arrested tourists as Benjamin Pastrana, 64; Marichu Pastrana, 56; and Luisa Mingi, 55.
The three are residents of Silang, Cavite.
"According to Police Lieutenant Colonel Don Dicksie De Dios, Malay Municipal Police Station chief, they received a phone call around 11:55 a.m. of the same date from the staff of Aklan Provincial Tourist Validating Office that there are three local tourists who entered Boracay Island through the Caticlan Jetty Port and checked in at La Carmela de Boracay Hotel and Convention Center Corporation using fake test results," the PRO report stated.
Earlier, President Rodrigo Duterte urged “no mercy” toward tourists who present fake RT-PCR test results, saying charges must be filed against them.
A negative RT-PCR test result is being required for tourists who are entering the resort island of Boracay.
The Department of Tourism reported that from January 1 to July 11 this year, Boracay registered 12,855 tourists, of which 8,529 came from the National Capital Region, 2,697 from Calabarzon, and 905 from Central Luzon. (PR)