Published December 24, 2020, 11:08 AM
DAVAO CITY – Air travelers have been cautioned against fake laboratories in Metro Manila offering cheap coronavirus disease (COVID-19) tests after the local government of Davao reported that majority of the passengers who presented invalid test results upon their arrival at the Davao International Airport since August were scammed, City Tourism and Operations Office head Generose Tecson said.
During an interview over Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR 87.5) on Wednesday, Tecson said that of the 21 passengers who were caught with invalid reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test results, 18 were scammed.
Tecson, who is concurrent head of the Airport Health Monitoring Team, said that scammers offered to get the swabbing done at the residence of their clients for as low as P1,000 without issuing official receipts.
December 23, 2020 THE City Government of Davao Airport Health Monitoring Team urged air passengers to be careful where they get their reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests at their point of origin after some passengers were reportedly scammed.
This comes after the Airport Health Monitoring apprehended a total of 21 persons for presenting tampered RT-PCR from July up to the present. It was in July when the city started requiring a negative RT-PCR test result upon arrival in the city. The result must be valid for at least 48 to 72 hours.
The figure includes five travelers from one flight who were apprehended on Monday, December 22, after presenting falsified RT-PCR results upon arrival at the Francisco Bangoy International Airport, also known as Davao International Airport.
22 December 2020
Cebu Pacific has launched a test before boarding process for passengers flying from Manila, after its successful pilot run with the local government of General Santos.
This process makes use of an antigen test taken just hours before the scheduled time of departure, with results released within 30 minutes.
The Philippines’ largest carrier offers an antigen test for US$14.
The testing facility at the NAIA Terminal 3 is now open for walk-ins from 02:00-14:00 daily.
Passengers will only have to register onsite and pay the fee directly to diagnostic partner, Philippine Airport Diagnostic Laboratory (PADL).
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“Following the successful TBB pilot, Cebu Pacific is ready to offer this option to all their passengers.
December 2020 390 Cebu Pacific (CEB), the Philippines’ largest national flag carrier, has launched affordable Covid-19 testing options to boost confidence in air travel. Passengers traveling from Dubai to Manila with connecting or transfer flights to select provinces in the Philippines, can now avail of antigen tests through the airline’s Test Before Boarding (TBB) initiative for only AED54 ($14.7). The antigen tests, which provide results within 30 minutes, are accepted for travel to General Santos City, Butuan, Dipolog, and Pagadian. For these destinations, passengers can head directly to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Terminal 3 just a few hours before their estimated time of departure to get the test. Passengers will just have to register onsite and pay the fee to CEB’s diagnostic partner, Philippine Airport Diagnostic Laboratory (PADL). Only those holding negative test results will be allowed to board the flight.
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