Bohol Governor Art Yap says there is no way that Bohol will re-open its doors to tourism without PCR labs, contact tracing systems.
Yap stressed that it would be impossible for Bohol to open early for tourism unless there are polymerase chain reaction (PCR) labs and a system of contact tracing.
He revealed this in reaction to the plan of the Department of Tourism (DoT) to open Bohol and Boracay to tourists, ahead of the rest of the country.
He gave his reaction early on Friday, June 12, 2020. He said: “Unless these two – PCR testing and contact tracing systems – are in place, I don’t think Bohol is in the position to gamble,” Yap said during the media interaction at the Capitol.
Tourism Sec. Bernadette Romulo-Puyat revealed to the governor that Boracay, the popular beach destination located in the Visayan province of Aklan, is opening, so Bohol should, too.
Yap said he told Puyat that Boracay has its own considerations as Bohol has considerations of its own.
“What is important for us, in the coming days, is to make sure we have PCR labs so can address the major gateways,” the governor said.
The governor also bared that the province’s major gateways are Panglao, Tagbilaran, Tubigon, Getafe, Talibon, Ubay, and Jagna. These seven (7) key gateways are where majority of the ingress and eggress activities of Bohol visitors happen, Yap explained.
Moreover, the gateways need to be connected to a network of PCR testing laboratories, Yap continued.
It was learned in the same press briefing that the DoT unraveled its plan to prepare for the reopening of Boracay and Bohol as soon as the health protocols in the said islands are in place and more flights are allowed.
According to a report by the Manila Standard on June 10, 2020; Puyat made the revelation ahead of her scheduled visits to Boracay and Bohol to personally assess the health and safety conditions of the two islands, known as top tourist destinations in the country.
“As you all know, Boracay is zero COVID while Bohol has had two cases of returning residents, otherwise, very, very minimal infection. What is important now is that when a tourist goes to a place, the health protocol is there. It’s safe for the domestic tourists to go to that place, since COVID is not there. And eventually, we can open it to foreign tourists,” Puyat told national media as reported by the Manila Standard.
In an ambush interview, Yap following Friday’s press conference, laid out the conditions for those who want to come here. The governor told the Capitol media this: “Nakigstorya na ta sa mga air(line) companies to remind all the people taking the airplane flight that when you come here we will look for your local government clearance.”
Any person coming to Bohol without any local government unit (LGU) clearance may not go anywhere and should undergo quarantine, the governor said.
At this time, the default policy only applies to the returning overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) and locally stranded individuals (LSIs).