MANILA, Philippines — At least five senators have thrown their support behind Cebu's policy of testing Filipinos returning from overseas upon arrival, disputing criticism that it runs contrary to guidelines set by the national pandemic task force. Senate President Vicente Sotto III in a statement Wednesday said he "strongly" supports Cebu's implementation of the swab-upon-arrival policy. Implementation of Cebu's policy in other areas pushedSen. Joel Villanueva on Thursday said Cebu's swab-upon-arrival policy as "sensible, but science-based" and "low-cost but highly-effective." "If we adopt Cebu's approach as national policy, the government will be saving billions of pesos a year. Sen. Sonny Angara on Wednesday said he hoped Cebu's "practical" swab-upon-arrival policy will be implemented in other parts of the country as well.

Source: Philippine Star June 10, 2021 09:45 UTC