Tourism department, NBI coordinating on list of 'quarantine breach' hotels
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Tourism on Thursday said that it has coordinated with the National Bureau of Investigation on the list of quarantine hotels allegedly involved in quarantine breaches.
These hotels, according to the DOT, refused to when the NBI investigated a number of their guests who reportedly skipped the mandatory quarantine.
Last Wednesday, ABS-CBN News reported that the bureau monitored foreign nationals, returning Filipinos and a celebrity breaking quarantine violations during the Delta variant outbreak last year. However, these facilities being monitored did not cooperate with NBI’s investigation.
The DOT, however, said like other quarantine breach cases, failure to comply with the agency, the DOH or the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID)’s protocol may lead to criminal penalties of fines and/or imprisonment, and administrative penalties such as suspension or revocation of accreditation depending on the gravity of the offense.
It also warned travelers to follow these health and safety protocols as well.
"The DOT strongly reminds all travelers and establishments to strictly observe the prescribed guidelines by health experts and authorities," the tourism agency’s statement read.
The department’s renewed warning and the NBI’s probe came after President Rodrigo Duterte suggested deploying police officers to enforce the quarantine rules.
The DOT said it received reports of hotels allowing guests to jump the mandatory quarantine. The names of these hotels have been forwarded to concerned agencies like the Bureau of Quarantine.
Quarantine breaches in hotels made headlines after a Filipina returning from the US, since identified as Gwyneth Anne Chua, skipped isolation at a hotel in Makati City to party. She later tested positive for COVID-19 and infected the staff at the party venue as well as the other party-goers.
In view of this quarantine-skipping incident, DOT suspended the accreditation of Berjaya Hotel Makati, revoked its permit as a multiple-use hotel and imposed a fine of equivalent to twice the rack rate of its most expensive room" or equivalent to a fine of P13,200.
Makati City Hall later issued a closure order which was decried by the management of Berjaya Makati Hotel as having no legal basis.
"For one, the DOT order is not yet final as the hotel will appeal it within the fifteen-day period it is given. Meanwhile, the suspension is not in effect,” the hotel management’s statement read.
“Secondly, there is no law that penalizes a hotel for not reporting a guest who jumps quarantine. There is nothing in RA (11322) that is applicable to the hotel. Thirdly, we must be accorded due process and be allowed to explain before any penalty is imposed. We have not been given our day in court by the Makati City Hall," it added.
The hotel furthered that it has 18 guests who have tested positive and who have yet to be pulled out by the Bureau of Quarantine, adding that there are 80 others who are in the middle of their quarantine.
It said that they also have around 20 quarantine guests per week coming in and have paid in advance.
"The inconvenience to the public is incalculable, unnecessary, and preventable," Berjaya Makati Hotel management said.
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