The mayor of Bagac in Bataan province expressed his gratitude to the Department of Tourism (DOT) for its commitment to help the town’s tourism industry recover from losses incurred due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In a Philippine Information Agency report, Bagac Mayor Ramil Del Rosario told Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat that though tourism was slowly opening up in their town, health restrictions to locals as well as tourists are still being observed and implemented.
“I thank the Secretary for DOT’s offer to provide free Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests to our hotel and restaurant employees that will assure the health and safety of both locals and tourists,” Del Rosario was quoted as saying in the report.
Del Rosario said some tourists were forced to cancel reservation due to age restrictions of people particularly those below 15 years old and above 65 years old.
Puyat advised the local government unit (LGU) that since the province is under Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ), they can write a request to DOT to lift age restrictions among travelers so that Filipino families can enjoy their vacation.
This is being implemented in Baguio, Boracay, El Nido and Coron, the report said.
The Cabinet official added that they can also subsidize the RT-PCR tests of tourists amounting to P750 each and results will be available a day after.
Puyat added that even if tourism and non-essential travels are allowed under MGCQ it is still the LGU’s decision if they are going to allow it. “We want to restart tourism safely but surely,” she stressed.
