Makati hotel says Dacera, companions allowed as bookings made through corporate accounts

City Garden Grand Hotel Makati — where flight attendant Christine Dacera was last seen alive — has clarified that guests were not allowed to stay for leisure purposes, as bookings for the holidays were made under corporate accounts.

In a letter dated January 6, 2021, City Garden Grand Hotel responded to the show cause order issued by the Department of Tourism (DOT) on January 5, 2021.

The DOT tasked the hotel general manager Richard Reazon to explain why the hotel continued to accept guests even as rules dictate that accepting guests for leisure purposes is not allowed for establishments used as a quarantine or isolation facility.

"To stress, the guests were provided lodging accommodations not for leisure or staycationing purposes, but as Permitted Guests, as the bookings were made under corporate accounts whose businesses were located in Makati City," Reazon said in the letter.

The explanation came after Dacera was found unresponsive in a bathtub in the hotel following a celebration with friends in the same establishment on January 1. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, but declared dead on arrival due to a ruptured aortic aneurysm.

According to the hotel, Dacera and her companions booked three rooms — 2207, 2209, and 2009 — which were confirmed and accepted given that the bookings were made by qualified "Permitted Guests" under DOT guidelines.

"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 letter read.

Reazon explained that the bookings were made separately and under different names, under different accounts, and at different times, and the guests declared at all times that only one person would be using the room.

"None of the guests' visitors was made known to our front office manager at any time throughout the day. These visitors could only have gained access to the guest floors with the aid of the registered guests, in violation of hotel policies prohibiting such gatherings," he said.

"From initial review of CCTV footage, no obvious comings and goings were seen from any of the three rooms that would have roused the suspicion of our CCTV clerk, as their presence in any public spaces were brief," he added.

Dacera was laid to rest on Sunday, January 10, 2021, in General Santos City.

On January 4, the police announced that three of Dacera's companions were arrested for alleged rape with homicide, even as the initial medical report stated that Dacera died due to a ruptured aortic aneurysm.

Dacera's family however insisted that she was drugged and sexually abused, as they claimed the medical report did not include the injuries sustained and that she was very healthy.

The following day, Dacera's mother, Sharon, appealed to President Rodrigo Duterte to help them seek justice, with no less than PNP chief Debold Sinas issuing a 72-hour ultimatum for the other suspects to surrender or be hunt down.

The PNP also deemed the case "solved" even with the investigation still ongoing, as it said the following criteria were met: the "offender" identified; sufficient evidence to charge "offender"; "offender" taken into custody; and "offender charged before courts.

However, National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) acting director Police Brigadier General Vicente Danao Jr. said the evidence presented to show that Dacera was raped is insufficient.

Several of Dacera's companions during the night in question have also maintained their innocence, as they said they could not have done the allegations made against them.

Moving forward, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to look into the matter as he found the police investigation "not thorough enough."—AOL, GMA News