House leader endorses expanded Covid testing for tourism workers

TO reboot the tourism industry, the leadership of the House of Representatives wants to accelerate the expanded Covid-19 testing for tourism frontliners.

Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano, in a news statement, said he is supporting the plan of the National Task Force against Covid-19 to expand testing strategy covering non-medical frontliners who are not showing symptoms of the disease.

“Now is the best time to assess and plan to rebuild our domestic tourism industry. Our tourism sector needs to adapt, innovate and manage the changing requirements of local tourists as we transition to new normal phase,” he added.

Citing the Department of Tourism’s “Philippine Travel Survey,” Cayetano said that 77 percent of respondents expressed their willingness to travel to local destinations once restrictions are lifted.

Cayetano, meanwhile, also urged the Department of Tourism (DOT) to work with the Task Force Test, Trace, Treat (T3) and its private sector partners to accelerate the plan to conduct Covid-testing for workers in key tourist destinations in the country.

“An aggressive and sustained Covid-19 testing of our tourism frontliners is necessary to facilitate faster recovery in the tourism industry and ensure safe working environment,” said Cayetano.

“With the increased testing capacity in the country, tourism workers can be included in the expanded testing program. This initiative can help build trust and confidence of the domestic tourists as we begin to reopen more economic activities in the next few months,” Cayetano said.

On July 2, the Inter-agency Task Force (IATF) issued Resolution 51, approving the National Task Force’s recommendation to further expand the Covid-19 testing strategy in an effort to maximize the 10 million test kits procured by the DOH and the Department of Budget and Management (DBM).

Under the proposed Accelerated Recovery and Investments Stimulus for the Economy of the Philippines, or ARISE Philippines Act, mass testing for Covid-19 shall be conducted in areas where higher possibility of transmission of Covid-19 may occur, or have occurred.

ARISE, which was approved on third reading by the House of Representatives before the first regular session adjourned seeks to allocate about P10 billion for 2020 and 2021 for the conduct of mass testing.

Under the House-approved measure, mass testing refers to testing of all individuals by methods registered with and authorized by the Food and Drug Administration who are at high risk of contracting Covid-19 infection.

The bill also proposed to put up Covid-testing centers in tourist destinations to be identified by the DOT in partnership with the local government units and Department of Health (DOH) to stimulate tourism and generate employment.