Boracay resorts seek antigen pilot-testing to lure tourists

ESORT owners are urging the government to allow the pilottesting of an antigen test for entry to Boracay, to allow more tourists to come to the world-famous resort island.

RHenry Chusuey, owner of the Henann Resorts Group, said in an online press briefing hosted by Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque, “What is important to us now is the employment of our workers, for their livelihood to return. But the resort still can’t bring them all back [ because tourism is still poor]. So our request is for antigen pilot- testing in Boracay, to make it easier for the tourist to go Boracay. They take the antigen test before boarding so it’s not such a hassle because the RT-PCR test, you still have to go to the hospital. And tourism is still nonessential, so if it’s a hassle [for them to get a Covid test], they won’t come.”

Of the six resorts numbering 1,600 rooms, owned by the Henann Group on Boracay, Chusuey said only one resort is open, and only “less than 20 rooms” are occupied. From 2,200 worker pre- Covid, the resort company has only 100 working on the island at present.

Antigen tests cost a fraction of the RT- PCR test’s costs with results in minutes, but are not accurate in determining if a person has Covid-19. The Department of

Health reported on September 30 that South Korea’s SD Biosensor’s antigen tests failed to pass the World Health Organization’s recommended diagnostic standards. Said test is currently being pilottested in Baguio City, which opened a travel corridor with the Ilocos region on October 1.

According to Aklan Gov. Florencio Miraflores, visitors to Boracay have been increasing, albeit slowly, since it opened to more tourists on October 1. Last Friday, 53 tourists arrived, compared to 47 on October 1, and 35 on October 1. “But we expected this, since tourists still have difficulty coming here, they’re still a bit afraid. But we think in the new few weeks, in the next few months, more tourists will come to Boracay, because they can see the beauty of Boracay has returned to its state in the 1980s.”

He underscored that resorts on Boracay have also cut their room rates by as much as 75 percent, so the cost of the staying in a resorts “offsets the expense paid for the RT-PCR test.” An RT-PCR test costs anywhere from P4,000 to P6,500 with results as short as five hours to five days, depending on the testing center. All tourists now entering Boracay, even those from Western Visayas, are required to undergo such a test, 48 hours prior to the arrival on the island. (See, “DTI’S

Lopez: Boracay workers don’t need mandatory Covid-19 testing,” in the Businessmirror, October 5, 2020.)

Miraflores assured would- be visitors, “If tourists have [Covid] symptoms and have to be treated, we have a complete hospital. They can call our Covid Hotline 152, if they want to get checked. Medical staff are ready.”

Roque has been in Boracay since October 4, encouraging visitors to visit. Asked by GMA News if Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo Puyat knew he was on the island and “doing her job,” Roque said, “Secretary Berna is in isolation. If she were not, her plan was to be here on October 1. So when Secretary Berna could not make it, we thought it best to share the message of the President to open the economy, especially tourism, to come here and encourage our citizens to visit Boracay again.”

He added he has been visiting Boracay since 1987. “In my first 10 years as a lawyer, when I was asked my field of specialization, I said ‘ beach law’ because most of my clients were the mom and pop resorts here in Boracay. I’ve seen Boracay businesses grow, their hotels have expanded until they sold off to hotel chains.... so I’ve had a long experience here in Boracay.”