Authorities have discovered that some travelers requesting to enter Negros Occidental and Bacolod City have been using fake COVID-19 negative RT-PCR test results.
Travelers to Negros Occidental and Bacolod City are required to submit negative RT-PCR test results valid for 72 hours from date of swab sample extraction.
Some passengers wanting to enter Negros Occidental have been using fake or expired RT-PCR results, Zeaphard Caelian, Provincial Incident Management Team head, said Tuesday, March 23.
Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said charges for falsification of public documents will be filed against those caught.
Diaz said they have been informed that fake negative RT-PCR results are being sold at the pier in Manila for P900.
Caelian said QR codes of the test results submitted by travelers are checked for authenticity and validation with molecular laboratories are made prior to granting them permission to enter the province.
Dr. Chris Sorongon, Bacolod Emergency Operations Center deputy for medical data and analysis, said they have also caught fake RT-PCR results from persons wanting to return to Bacolod City.
The cases of those falsifying RT-PCR results are referred to the City Legal Office for appropriate action, he said.
Sorongon said they are diligently verifying test results being submitted, which is especially important with the surge of COVID-19 cases in Metro Manila and Cebu.
They are disappointed in people who attempt to present fake COVID-19 results, especially at this time, for their own convenience and at the expense of others should they be positive for the virus, he said.
Their risking the health of others, including members of their families, is so irresponsible, Sorongon said.
“We should all be responsible for the safety of everyone,” he said.*