(Eagle News) — The Department of Tourism has revoked the certificate of authority to operate of the City Garden Grand Hotel where flight attendant Christine Dacera was last found alive.
In a statement, the DOT said the CGGH in Makati was also fined P10,000 and its DOT accreditation suspended for six months after it was found to “have misrepresented itself to the public as being allowed to accommodate guests for leisure or staycation purposes despite being a quarantine facility.”
“This is to reiterate that (accommodation establishments) repurposed as quarantine facilities cannot offer their rooms and facilities for leisure purposes,” the DOT said, noting that at the same time, “staycation hotels shall not be used for quarantine.”
The DOT said only four- to five-star AEs may accommodate guests for staycation purposes.
According to the DOT, “the pieces of evidence showed that even prior to the incident and until now, the CGGH is marketing packages to accept leisure guests and never indicated that it is a quarantine hotel.”
As such, it said the CGGH was “liable for the offense of gross and evident bad faith in dealing with clients/fraudulent solicitation of business or making any false, deceptive, or misleading claims or statements for the purpose of soliciting business from clients.”
The DOT said the hotel may file an appeal within the period prescribed.
Earlier, in response to a show-cause order issued by the DOT on Jan. 6, the hotel denied that guests were allowed to stay for leisure purposes there.
Dacera and the others, it said, were allowed to book rooms for the holidays as the bookings were made under corporate accounts.
As such, the hotel said Dacera and the group fall under the “Permitted Guests” classification of the DOT.
“Moreover, at the time these reservations were made and accepted, there was no clear indication that these guests knew each other, or made the reservations with the intention of holding a party within the hotel premises,” the hotel said.
Dacera was found unresponsive in a bathtub as she celebrated the holidays with friends in the hotel on Jan. 1.
She was declared dead on arrival at a nearby hospital due to a ruptured aortic aneurysm.
Her family believes she was drugged and sexually abused.
Several of Dacera’s companions maintained their innocence.
The National Bureau of Investigation has been tasked to probe Dacera’s case after three of the individuals police considered suspects were released by the Makati Prosecutor’s Office for further investigation.
