COLLECTION ALREADY STOPPED

Balikbayans in a hurry paid up to P10k for faster COVID test results —DOTr exec Published October 29, 2020 11:19am By JOVILAND RITA, GMA News A private laboratory at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) was charging up to P10,000 from Filipinos arriving from abroad for faster swab test results, a Department of Transportation (DOTr) official said Thursday. The amount was lower than the P20,000 amount earlier bared by Senator Richard Gordon, who suspected that some officers may be earning "commissions" from this. Interviewed on Dobol B sa News TV, DOTr Usec. Raul del Rosario, who heads the One-Stop-Shop for Management of Returning Overseas Filipinos, noted that the collection has been stopped. Del Rosario, also the administrator Office for Transportation Security (OTS), identified the private laboratory as the Philippine Airport Diagnostic (PAD) Laboratory. “Totoo po 'yun nag-offer po siya ng P7,000 para sa 24 hours [na turnaround time] at P10,000 para sa 12 hours. Pero antimano po noong nalaman ito ng One-Stop-Shop, pinatigil natin ‘yan,” he said. In July, he said the government allowed two private laboratories to operate in the airport to help the Philippine Red Cross and government laboratories in accommodating the surge of returning Filipinos. For returning OFWs, Del Rosario said COVID-19 test is free as it is shouldered by the government. However, he said some OFWs wanted faster results due to emergency situations like death in the family or they have connecting flights, so they resorted to private laboratories that promised faster results. “Kapag nagpa-swab po sila sa private at binigyan ng permission ng Overseas Workers Welfare Administration at Bureau of Quarantine, magbabayad sila pero mas mabilis ang swab test result nila pero kaunti lang ho ang difference,” Del Rosario said. According to Del Rosario, the PAD laboratory said it charges the same fee outside the airport to cover additional cost in using a different processing machine. Earlier, Gordon bared that up to P20,000 is being charged for a faster release of their COVID-19 test results at the airport. Gordon, also the PRC chairperson, suspected that passengers are being diverted to testing booths that charge higher fees maybe because of personalities who take "commissions" out of these tests. —KBK, GMA News

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