The Negros Occidental provincial government is eyeing raps for falsification of public documents against five returning overseas Filipinos (ROFs), while blood samples will be extracted from a Pontevedra couple tomorrow, January 22, to determine if they have been infected with the United Kingdom COVID-19 variant.
The couple and their son, who arrived in the Philippines on December 30 from London, via Istanbul, are facility quarantined in Pontevedra, Mayor Jose Maria Alonso said.
The couple tested negative for the virus in Manila on December 31.
However, on their arrival in Negros Occidental on January 16 they were swabbed again and the test results released on January 18 showed that they were positive for COVID-19, the mayor added.
The couple, who are asymptomatic, were initially under strict home quarantine in Pontevedra and were facility quarantined along with their son when the positive results were released, Alonso said.
On January 2, the couple and their son tried to return to Negros Occidental but were not allowed to do so and remained under hotel quarantine until January 16, he added.
They attempted to return to Negros Occidental on January 2 but were declined because of their country of origin. On January 16 they declared themselves as locally stranded individuals (LSIs) instead of ROFs and returned to the province, Diaz said.
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said that he has directed Diaz to take legal action against those returning to Negros Occidental who provide wrong information about themselves.
Diaz said the couple and their son wrote on their Client Investigation Form prior to departure from Manila that they were LSIs, which is tantamount to falsification of public documents.
He has referred the matter to the Provincial Legal Office for action, Diaz said.
A Sagay City resident from Saudi Arabia also declared himself as an LSI on his return to the province, while a Cadiz City resident from Turkey did not undergo quarantine in Manila and falsified his quarantine certificate, Diaz added.*