Cebu resort stakeholder steps down after autism remarks

CEBU CITY –– An executive of a luxury resort in Lapu-Lapu City has resigned barely one week after he drew flak on social media over his handling of a customer complaint and remarks on autism.

Manny Gonzalez, a resident shareholder of Plantation Bay Resort and Spa, vacated his post effective Tuesday, Dec. 15, “to protect our staff from further indignities.”

“With sincere apologies for my error of judgment, which led to so much trouble to many innocent people, I have decided to resign from the position of Resident Shareholder,” said Gonzales as quoted in an official statement released by the resort through Dorothy Palafox of Issues Management Group, Inc., the new PR Consultant of Plantation Bay Resort and Spa.

The resort also assessed current protocols in place and has pledged to initiate more proactive efforts and implement necessary changes within the week.

Sought for clarification as to what a “resident stakeholder” is and what Gonzales has resigned from, she said she had yet to consult the resort management.

Gonzalez drew the ire of people after his harsh reply to an online review by a mother of a child with autism.

The departments of Tourism and Justice, as well as the Commission on Human Rights, are conducting separate probes on the incident.

Mai Pages, the mother of the 6-year-old child with autism, who felt bad about how they were treated at Plantation Bay last Dec. 6, has yet to respond to a message sent by the Inquirer as of 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

In a Tripadvisor review of Plantation Bay, Pages shared how they were “discriminated and excluded” at the resort after at least two lifeguards called her attention to stop her child from squealing.

She said her son Fin would make squealing sounds whenever they went in the waters as he often does whenever he was excited or happy.

In a now-deleted comment on Tripadvisor, Gonzalez responded to Pages and accused her of “most likely deliberately lying” or had been given an incorrect diagnosis of autism.

Gonzalez said an uncontrolled shouting is not a symptom of autism and told Pages to Google the disorder and “verify this for yourself.”

The Autism Society Philippines condemned the acts of Plantation Bay management, saying there is a need for disability sensitivity training and a review of the resort’s policies and procedures in compliance with Republic Act 7277 or the Magna Carta for Persons with Disability. With reports from Nestle Semilla, Inquirer Visayas

Edited by LZB