DOT pauses COVID-19 test subsidy endorsements for domestic tourists
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism’s attached agency Tourism Promotions Board on Monday announced that it is temporarily suspending the processing and endorsement of applications for RT-PCR (Reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction) test 50% subsidy to its partner hospitals.
The suspension of endorsement and processing of RT-PCR test subsidy applications to the University of the Philippines-Philippine General Hospital and Philippine Children’s Medical Center will take effect from March 22 to April 4.
— Tourism Promotions Board Philippines (@tpbphl) March 22, 2021
This is in accordance with the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases Resolution No. 104 Series of 2021 that prohibits leisure travel from National Capital Region, Bulacan, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal.
The TPB said it would resume endorsements to its partner hospitals on these dates:
- UP-PGH – March 31 (Closed April 1 to 2)
- PCMC – April 2 (for previously approved applicants prior to March 5)
The endorsement dates are for domestic tourists who are scheduled to depart on April 5 onwards.
Travelers whose flights were reschedule may inform TPB of their updated flights and hotel bookings to the following email addresses so that they can also reschedule their RT-PCR tests:
- UP-PGH – [email protected]
- PCMC – [email protected]
Applicants are asked to use the subject “APPLICANT/S FOR SWAB RESCHEDULING” in their email address for easier tracking.
The TPB stressed that the rescheduling of COVID-19 testing is subject to availability of slots for UP-PGH applicants in view of their maximum capacity of 150 approved applicants per day.
Last March 4, the tourism promotions body also announced that it would stop processing the registrants and applications for the RT-PCR test subsidy with PCMC since the number of approved applications has already reached the allocated slots for COVID-19 test subsidy.
The DOT and TPB partnered with UP-PGH and PCMC in December last year to make the RT-PCR test affordable to 11,000 and 11,600 qualified domestic tourists, respectively.
Under the memorandum agreement with the two partner hospitals, the RT-PCR tests cost P900 and P750, from the UP-PGH and PCMC, respectively.
- Latest
- Trending
