Berjaya Makati Hotel asserts city government closure order has no legal basis
THE MANAGEMENT of Berjaya Makati Hotel said on Thursday that the closure order issued by the Makati City government has no legal basis, and asserted that it was not given due process.
“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 (DoT) is without legal basis,” it said in a statement.
DoT announced on Wednesday that it has temporarily suspended the accreditation and revoked the multiple-use permit of the hotel after a guest violated quarantine protocol, and later tested positive for coronavirus and infected contacts during the breach.
A copy of the decision has been served and Berjaya Hotel is given 15 working days to appeal the ruling, DoT said.
“(T)he 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,” Berjaya Makati Hotel said.
“Secondly, there is no law that penalizes a hotel for not reporting a guest who jumps quarantine. There is nothing in Republic Act 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 pointed out that it currently has 18 guests who have tested positive and have yet to be pulled out by the Bureau of Quarantine. Another 80 are in the middle of their quarantine while about 20 weekly guests have been booked and paid.
“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,” Hotel Makati Berjaya said.
