Duty Free workers reject designer’s apology for 2-hour outburst

MANILA, Philippines – Employees of the Duty Free Philippines outlet in Parañaque City who were berated by a designer two weeks ago refused to accept any apology and vowed to bring the matter to court. Susan Gonzales, store manager of Duty Free Fiesta Mall, said Angelo "Boyet" Fajardo’s public apology aired on a number of news programs on Tuesday not only seemed "insincere" but was also not enough to convince them not to file charges. "Itutuloy namin ang kaso namin. Hindi po namin tanggap ang sorry niya. Kasi madali lang magsabi ng sorry, pero baka sa susunod na panahon maulit iyon hindi lang sa amin," Gonzalez said in a radio dzBB interview. [We will push through with the filing of charges. We are not accepting his apology. It’s easy to say 'sorry' but he might break into a similar outburst in the future.] Gonzalez was among the store officials who tried to appease Fajardo, who became outraged over a credit card transaction last March 13. Fajardo was complaining why cashier Marvin Fernandez refused to honor his credit card without any identification card bearing the former’s signature. The commotion prompted the store supervisor and managers to approach Fajardo in an attempt to pacify him. "Tinanong siya ng division manager namin – na mas mataas na sa amin ‘yun ha – at tinanong kung ano ang business niya. Tapos pinandilatan siya at sinabi, 'Anong pakialam mo!' [Our division manager, who is our superior, tried inquiring what business Fajardo was engaged in but the designer shot back, ‘What do you care’]," Gonzales recounted. With none of the store officials knowing who he was, Fajardo reportedly went on to narrate that he operated some 60 clothing stores in the country and boasted he knew "powerful" politicians. Finally giving in to Fajardo, the store officials allowed the designer to make the purchase anyway. But still, Fajardo demanded that the cashier either kneel before him or be slapped on the face. Fernandez chose to fall on his knees. Aside from cursing at Fernandez, Fajardo also allegedly stomped at the cashier’s foot and threw his passport to the latter’s face. 2-hour confrontation In expressing his apology, Fajardo later told GMA News his "creative outburst" was only triggered by his exhaustion and the long flight before the incident. He said he and Fernandez were “both victims in the incident." However, the store employees and officials think otherwise, with Gonzales stressing that what Fajardo did was “too much." She said she would never forget the “unusual" confrontation because it dragged on for more than two hours, until past 5 p.m. "I’ve dealt with a number of difficult customers in the past but nothing like this. Fajardo’s case was different," she said. "Pumasok po ako ng tindahan ng mga 3:15 p.m., pero 5:30 na hindi pa natatapos. Mahaba po iyon. Wala na ngang lumalapit sa cashier kasi ang sigaw niya nakakatawag na ng pansin." [I reported for work at about 3:15 p.m. and the confrontation had already started. By 5:30 p.m., it was still not through. Nobody was coming near the cashier anymore because Mr. Fajardo was already making a scene.] The Duty Free Employees Association has already lodged a complaint against Fajardo before the office of Commission on Human Rights Chairman Leila de Lima, who said everyone has the right “to be treated with humanity and dignity." The Duty Free Philippines management is already conducting a fact-finding investigation, and is mulling on reviewing its store policies to prevent a repeat of the incident. After a clip of the incident was posted on the Internet, the blogosphere began being flooded with comments of outrage toward Fajardo, with some of them putting up online petitions to boycott the designer’s works. Duty Free employees union president Dennis Mallari said if Fajardo was sincere with his apology, the designer should have expressed it earlier and not two weeks after the incident. - Mark Merueñas, GMANews.TV