Cebu resort draws flak after responding negatively to a review by a parent of a special needs child

A resort in Cebu drew flak on social media after its owner responded negatively to a review by a parent of a special needs child.

In a Trip Advisor review of Plantation Bay Resort and Spa on Sunday, Mai Pages, a mother to a six-year-old child with autism, narrated an experience at the resort she described as discriminating and shared that the place was "not an ideal place for a child with special needs."

According to Mai's account, her son Fin would make squealing sounds whenever they went in the waters, as he often does whenever he was excited or happy.

"I thought that was okay until we were told from afar (a lifeguard)," she wrote.

"As a mother, your initial action would be directed to your child. So I told him not to squeal because it wasn’t allowed," Mai continued in her review.

"Quite frankly it was a difficult moment," she admitted.

Soon, another lifeguard came to tell them the same thing, and this time, Mai explained that Fin had special needs. 

Mai said that at one point, she even tried to cover his mouth to stop him from making happy, squealing sounds. That was when she realized that it wasn't right at all.

"It's not right [to] stop him from doing what makes him happy," Mai told GMA News Online, Tuesday. "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."

Swimming, said Mai, was therapeutic for Fin since he was also being taught to express himself, be it through squealing, since he couldn't verbally express himself.

"I just felt discriminated and excluded. Dapat therapeutic for him but we weren't accommodated," Mai said. After the incident, Mai and her son checked out of the resort ahead of their scheduled check-out time.

Mai also shared her Plantation Bay experience on Facebook, where it's generated quite a number of shares and engagement.

In a now deleted comment on Trip Advisor, Manny Gonzalez, the resort's resident stakeholder and using the account of general manager Efren Belarmino, replied to Mai and accused her of "most likely deliberately lying" since "uncontrolled shouting is not a symptom of autism." He went as far as to question the child's diagnosis.

"Google 'Autism' and verify this for yourself," read the reply. "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," the reply continued.

In another reply still published on Trip Advisor, Gonzalez still using Belarmino's account, reiterated that Plantation Bay has always been clear on its site and social media accounts regarding its strict policies. The strict policy, he explained was for the benefit of safety and the welfare of other guests.

Explaining that the resort has 10 times more water area than other Mactan resorts, "It is essential that our staff be able to hear cries of distress even from far away. Moreover, it is essential that our staff not become so used to hearing screaming that they ignore a real cry for help," he said.

"Therefore since our opening, for the safety of all guests, we have imposed stricter rules on noise-making than other resorts. As a result of our policy, no child in Plantation Bay has ever come to serious harm, much less drowned. No other resort in Mactan can claim this safety record...0 deaths in 25 years is a good safety record, one we aim to keep," he continued.

"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," he said.

The manager said that if Mai was truly concerned, she should have "read and noted our policies."

"Therefore this parent is trying to blame the resort for her own failure to look after her child's interest," the manager wrote.

"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."

According to Mai, she no longer took the time to read the manager's response.

"Di ko siya binasa because I know it's gonna hurt me more, mas lalo feeling na masasaktan ka more because of how they handled the situation," Mai said. She also explained that she did in fact read the noise policy but she didn't know that the policy would strictly include children having fun.

"It's unfair for families with special needs children to be treated that way, parang walang space sila, place to enjoy."

On Twitter, netizens came to Mai's defense and criticized Gonzalez's reply.

Dear Manny Gonzalez, resident share holder of Plantation bay. Please revisit medical websites, journals and books in regards to the autism spectrum. Your “google search” is not enough to validate your understanding as you are only looking at ONE side of the spectrum ?? pic.twitter.com/Glaqf4XMYT

— ? (@ovrthnkngkrl) December 8, 2020

what the actual fuck plantation bay pic.twitter.com/CSPyVQYXZz

— myth (@L0VESICKBLINK) December 8, 2020

This is how the “resident shareholder” Manny Gonzalez of Plantation Bay in Mactan, Cebu responded to a complaint by a parent with a kid with special needs. This is beyond disgusting. People like Manny Gonzales are what makes this world awful #BoycottPlantationBay #CancelMannyG pic.twitter.com/vxDtXeztyV

— Drew Sarmiento (@DrewSarmiento) December 8, 2020

Resident shareholder of Plantation Bay really be mansplaining autism to parents of children with autism, and insinuating they're either deliberately lying or have been given the wrong diagnosis... according to what he found on Google. ????

Sir, nope.

— little miss (@pattymanuelle) December 8, 2020

The management of Plantation Bay Resort in Cebu really implied that the child was wrongly diagnosed because Google said so. Imagine telling your client “your child doesn’t have autism, you’re just a bad parent”
Imagine being so unapologetically ableist https://t.co/Xpt4Ei2MKY

— ???? (@soonshimssi) December 8, 2020

Many autism groups have also spoken up and condemned the actions of Plantation Bay.

In a blog post on Tuesday, the Autism Society Philippines commended Mai for speaking out and fighting for Fin.

"A disability-compassionate and sympathetic hospitality organization would have gone the extra mile to understand their customer's perspective. Instead, the resort went the other direction," the organization wrote.

The resort's response, said the group, was "ignorant of what the autism spectrum is — even going as far as to shame the parent and question the veracity of the child’s diagnosis."

The manager's response is an "opportunity for sensitive training and a review of the resort's policies for compliance to disability laws," said the organization.

Meanwhile, Autism Strong Philippines also urged the resort to conduct sensitivity training for its personnel to prevent similar incidents in the future.

Statement of Autism Strong Philippines regarding the Plantation Bay incident.#PWARights pic.twitter.com/5oGnzJ1d99

— Autism Strong Philippines (@AutismStrongPH) December 8, 2020

"His response to the complaint of the parent was inappropriate," the group said in a statement released on Tuesday. "His remark continues to grow the stigma towards the PWA community."

It added, "There should be a proper investigation involving his remarks."

The Autism Society Philippines assured parents of children with special needs that the law is on their side.

Should the issue be not resolved even if the top management is involved, Autism Society Philippines said that they may file a civil case in court for "violations of the RA 7277, the Magna Carta for Persons with Disability."

Mai doesn't plan on suing the resort, but she wanted them to understand and be kinder to other people.

"My point lang naman: Be kinder to families with a special needs child because it's not easy," Mai said.

"It's so wrong for them na they're family-oriented and they welcome children but they don't want children to have fun," Mai added.

GMA News Online has reached out to Plantation Bay but has yet to receive a response. We will update this story as soon as we receive word from Plantation Bay. — LA, GMA News