The Department of Tourism (DOT) has issued a show cause order against Berjaya Hotel Makati for allegedly allowing one of its guests to skip quarantine protocols to attend a party and eventually tested positive for COVID-19.
In the order signed by DOT National Capital Region officer-in-charge Sharlene Zabala-Batin dated Dec. 29, Berjaya was asked to explain within three days why the guest was able to escape the hotel's supervision.
According to the DOT, the guest, identified as Gwyneth Anne Chua, was supposed to be under a mandatory quarantine after arriving from the United States, as required by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) on the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases.
"It has come to the attention of the Department of Tourism that Ms. Gwyneth Anne Chua, a guest of Berjaya Hotel Makati, was allegedly able to leave your hotel and was seen in a bar in Poblacion, Makati on 23 December 2021 despite being under mandatory quarantine," the order stated.
In an interview over DZBB, DOT Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said the hotel initially denied that Chua skipped quarantine and claimed that she was in the hotel since Dec. 22 and when she was declared COVID positive on Dec. 27.
However, Puyat said the DOT received signed affidavits and screenshots of social media posts showing that Chua attended the party and even boasted of having "connections."
"Nagtanong kasi yung mga kasamahan bakit kadadating lang niya the day before pero nandun na siya sa party. Sabi niya marami daw siyang connections (Her companions have been asking why she was able to join the party when she just returned the other day. She said she has a lot of connections)," Puyat shared.
Puyat said the traveler later tested positive for COVID-19 and is now in isolation. Her companions at the party also contracted the virus.
"Nobody is really above the law. Dapat talaga sumusunod because this is a health crisis. Dahil sa kapabayaan niya, nahawa niya yung mga kasama niya at yung mga nahawaan niya, may nahawa pang ibang tao (We must really follow the protocols because this is a health crisis. Because of her negligence, she spread the virus to her companions and her companions also infected other people)," the tourism chief noted.
The DOT secretary said they are waiting for Berjaya's written explanation, adding that failure to follow health and safety protocols of tourism establishments may lead to "criminal penalties of fines and/or imprisonment, and administrative penalties such as suspension or revocation of accreditation."
"Hindi sila pwedeng magbukas kung hindi nila sinusunod ang minimum health and safety protocols (They will not be allowed to operate if they don't follow the minimum health and safety protocols)," she added.
Meanwhile, Puyat said the DOT is currently verifying reports they have received on other hotels allegedly offering "absentee quarantine" packages where guests will just pay for a five-day stay but will be allowed to go out. The guest will then return to the hotel on the fifth day for their RT-PCR test.
The DOT added that they are now working with the Department of Interior and Local Government and the Philippine National Police to arrest erring establishments and put an end to this modus.