Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, January 12) — The decision on whether or not to revoke the permit of the City Garden Grand Hotel, where flight attendant Christine Dacera was found dead after partying with friends, will be out this week, Tourism Secretary Bernadette Romulo-Puyat said Tuesday.
“I was hoping to give a decision today pero hindi pwedeng i-rush (but it cannot be rushed). But don’t worry by this week lalabas na iyan (the decision will be released),” Puyat said in a briefing.
“Rest assured, the DOT will do what is fair and just,” she added.
The DOT has ordered the hotel in Poblacion, Makati City to explain why it allowed Dacera and her companions to check in on New Year’s Eve even if the establishment is a designated quarantine facility.
Officials have repeatedly said hotels being used as quarantine facilities cannot accept bookings for leisure purposes to limit possible COVID-19 infections.
The hotel claimed no liability on Dacera’s death and insisted it is compliant with government policies, DOT-National Capital Region Director Woodrow Maquiling, Jr. said last week about the establishment’s response to the show-cause order the agency issued against them.
The Makati City government is conducting its own probe into the incident. A gathering of more than 10 people is not allowed under the protocols issued by the country’s coronavirus task force.
