Makati govt, runners go after organizers of 'Makati After Dark' zombie mess

Runners, zombie enthusiasts and Makati City officials are now going after the organizers of the "Makati After Dark" fun run for their alleged failure to refund the participants' registration fee after suddenly deciding to cancel the event midway through the night.

The Makati Tourism Office (MTO) has asked events planning company J.R. Usi to "promptly submit" a letter detailing its reasons for calling off the fun run a few hours after it began on October 31 and to respond in writing to allegations that it ran away with the participants' money after the event was cancelled, according to Makati tourism consultant and MTO head Lito Anzures.

The zombie-themed fun run came under fire after several participants complained it was a scam.

"Makati After Dark" was originally presented by the organizers as "this year's biggest Halloween event," with 3,000 zombies ready to "pop out of street corners and run after thrill-seeking runners."

The event was supposedly a benefit run aimed at helping families affected by the 7.2-magnitude earthquake that hit Central Visayas last October.

A street party featuring popular Filipino bands, a zombie-themed movie marathon and a car show were also advertised as the other attractions during the event, which was supposed to last from 6 p.m. "until sunrise" the following day.

But several runners have claimed the event was prematurely cut short at around 10 p.m. One account described an event with little or no organization. And others alleged that the zombies were also unruly and tried to harass the participants.

Other complaints aired on social media were the organizers' failure to provide the loot bags and complete race kits promised to runners who paid the P1,000 registration fee, the unannounced cancellation of the street party and the lax security measures put in place for the event.

Some of the participants also said that representatives of J.R. Usi suddenly disappeared from the venue after the former started demanding refunds following the fun run's cancellation.

The mounting number of complaints have been detailed on the Facebook page named "Makati After Dark Bogus", which was created by disgruntled participants seeking a refund from the organizers.

The official website of "Makati After Dark" and its social media accounts have all been deactivated. J.R. Usi has not yet issued any statement on the matter.

'We did our homework'

In an interview with GMA News Online, MTO's Anzures clarified that "Makati After Dark" was not a co-production of the city's tourism office and J.R. Usi.

Some news organizations have reported that MTO collaborated with the events planning company for the event because the office publicly endorsed it.

The event was even featured on Makati City's official website.

Anzures said that the MTO never spent any money on the fun run, and just endorsed the event "in good faith."

"It was not a joint project. The organizers came to us with a proposal and asked for our help in promoting it. We never put in money in it and we also never sought to make a profit. We agreed to endorse it because we saw an event as big [as the run was supposed to be] will benefit the city of Makati," he said.

Anzures said the organizers' sudden cancellation of "Makati After Dark" came as a surprise to him since the company's owner, John Richard Usi, was reportedly a successful promoter and booking agent with "vast experience in the US mainstream entertainment industry."

"We checked into the company and we were assured that [it] can deliver. We did our homework, hindi naman kami nagkulang in terms of due diligence. It's unfortunate that this happened and our office is now being dragged into this," he said.

The tourism consultant said he is hopeful J.R. Usi will face the complaints lodged against it at the soonest possible time before the local government and the participants are forced to resort to legal remedies.

"I hope that whatever went wrong can be corrected soon enough. We would prefer that this be resolved out of the court, but we're also ready to explore our legal options," he said. — BM, GMA News