Makati LGU issues closure order vs Berjaya Hotel Makati over quarantine breach

The Makati City local government closed on Thursday, Jan. 6, the hotel where “Poblacion Girl” Gwyneth Anne Chua, a returning Filipino traveler from the United States, skipped quarantine procedures and was later found to be COVID-19 positive.

Berjaya Hotel Makati slammed the closure order as having “no legal basis” and said it would issue an appeal.

In a Viber message to reporters, Jun Salgado of the Makati Public Information Office (PIO) announced the closure of Berjaya Hotel Makati this afternoon.

Salgado said that the city government, together with the Business Processing and Licensing Office (BPLO), implemented its Closure Order against the establishment.

According to Makati PIO spokesperson and city legal officer Atty. Michael Camiña, the Department of Tourism (DOT) issued a decision on Wednesday, Jan. 5, penalizing Berjaya Hotel Makati with the following:

1. For violation for health and safety protocols issued by the IATF (DOT A.O. No. 2021-004-A Sec. 36(h), a FINE OF PHP13,200.00; and

2. For failure to comply with R.A. No. 11332 (DOT M.C. No. 2018-03 Sec. 13.2.1 (h), a THREE-MONTH SUSPENSION OF ITS DOT ACCREDITATION.

“Considering that Berjaya’s DOT Accreditation has been suspended, City is closing it since only hotels with DOT accreditation can operate at this time under relevant DOT and IATF guidelines,” Camiña said in a Viber message.

According to the Department of Health (DOH), seven out of 11 close contacts of Chua were infected with COVID-19.

Berjaya Hotel Makati then released a statement Thursday, Jan. 6, slamming the establishment's closure by the Makati LGU.

"The order by the Makati City Hall closing down Berjaya Makati Hotel’s operations based on the suspension order issued by the Department of Tourism is without legal basis," Berjaya Makati said.

"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. Secondly, there is no law that penalizes a hotel for not reporting a guest who jumps quarantine. There is nothing in R.A. 13322 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 also raised its concerns regarding its current quarantine guests and other clients which will be greatly affected by its immediate closure.

"On the operations level, if we close down the hotel immediately, where do we send our present quarantine guests? We have 18 guests who have tested positive and who have yet to be pulled out by the Bureau of Quarantine, and 80 who are in the middle of their quarantine," the hotel said.

"We 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," it added.

"The whole country is on war footing in effect against the pandemic. Every quarantine hotel, just like ours, serves a strategic purpose especially with the lack of rooms while the virus rampages throughout. To close down a quarantine hotel for no legal reason is to close down a hospital just when it is helping to win the war. There is no benefit to be gained by such regulatory posturing when national interest and public health are on the line," the hotel explained.