5-star resort-hotel sa Cebu nag-sorry sa guest na may special needs

NAGING hot topic sa social media at trending pa sa Twitter ang five-star hotel sa Marigodon, Mactan Island, Cebu na Plantation Bay Resort and Spa.

Kaliwa’t kanang batikos ang inabot  ng nasabing resort dahil sa “insensitive” at aroganteng pagsagot ng resident stakeholder nitong si Manny Gonzalez sa reklamo ng isa nilang guest patungkol sa kanilang rules and regulations.

Sa isang Trip Advisor review ng Plantation Bay Resort and Spa, ibinahagi ng inang si Mai Pages na may 6-year-old na anak na may autism, ang naging karanasan niya sa resort.

Aniya, ilang ulit silang pinagsabihan at pinagalitan ng staff nang gumawa ng ingay ang anak habang nagsu-swimming, “I thought that was okay until we were told from afar (lifeguard).

“As a mother, your initial action would be directed to your child. So I told him not to squeal because it wasn’t allowed. Quite frankly it was a difficult moment,” aniya pa. May pagkakataon pa nga raw na tinatakpan niya ang bibig ng bata.

Pero na-realize daw niyang, “It’s not right to stop him from doing what makes him happy.

“His squeals naman na irritating na matatakot ka, ‘yung the ones in the movie na autistic child na nagme-melt down, di ganoon eh. It was a happy kind of reaction from a happy child with disability,” sabi pa ni Mai sa isang panayam.

“I just felt discriminated and excluded. Dapat therapeutic for him but we weren’t accommodated. It could’ve been the perfect getaway for Fin, my child with special needs. When something excites him o he is happy,” sabi pa ng nanay na nagdesisyong mag-check out agad sa resort.

Ito naman ang bahagi ng sagot ni Manny Gonzalez, “Google ‘Autism’ and verify this for yourself. Therefore this parent is most likely deliberately lying, or has been given an incorrect diagnosis of autism, when what the child more likely has is a lack of discipline due to simple parental neglect.”

“If their parents would pay attention to them, and would refrain from screaming at each other, there would be no need for the child to scream. In our experience, one word from a responsible parent is enough to make a child quiet down,” sabi pa nito.

“Every customer should be respected, not just one parent and one child. Most of our guests fully understand and agree with this idea: it is not a resort for noise-makers, regardless of their reason. To demand that all the customers just shut up while one child screams his head off? That’s not our idea of fairness,” dugtong pa nito.

“Therefore this parent is trying to blame the resort for her own failure to look after her child’s interest.

“While we are sorry that we are not the right resort for this parent and child, we hope that in the future, other parents who want their children to scream constantly and bother other guests, will do their homework and choose another resort, one which doesn’t care about 99% of guests who want to relax in peace and quiet.”

Ngunit matapos ngang makatanggap ng sandamakmak na batikos mula sa publiko, lalo na sa mga autism group at sa mga pamilyang may kamag-anak na may special needs, naglabas agad ng public apology ang resort official.

“I was wrong to question the mother’s motives, and deeply regret leaving the impression that we are not supportive of the community of parents with children who have special needs,” ani Gonzalez na ipinost sa Facebook page ng resort.

“Our hotel’s policy on keeping noise levels down in the pool and at the restaurant is geared towards safety and relaxation for all guests.

“We try to apply this policy even-handedly. As a result of that policy, in almost 25 years we have never had a child die here. A mother’s pride is important, but more important are the lives of the children who come here,” aniya pa.