Canteen helper arrested over P1,660 bar bill

MANILA, Philippines—A canteen helper ended up in jail and being charged with estafa after he failed to pay P1,660 for seven bottles of beer and a handful of chips at a bar on Quirino Avenue in Quezon City.

According to Police Officer 2 Gerry Napagal of the Quezon City Police District, Jayme Reyes, 27, was jailed at the Talipapa police station after he told the manager of Apollo 14 Disco Bar and Restaurant, owned by lawyer Roger Tamayo, that his bill should only amount to less than P800.

“I was paying them P800 because when I entered the establishment, I told the waiter before I ordered that I only had P800,” Reyes said. However, Christian Arroyo, the bar manager, said that they would lose money should they let Reyes pay just P800. Based on the order slip signed by Reyes, he consumed two bottles of beer at P260 each and a saucer of chips priced at P190.

He said that his bill should just total P710. The manager, however, insisted that he consumed seven bottles of beer, an allegation denied by Reyes. Reyes claimed that the other bottles were placed on his tab by a guest relations officer who he did not even ask to sit at his table.

He also claimed that the waiter duped him into signing his bill, which he failed to check because it was dark inside the bar. He likewise accused the bar manager and other employees of ganging up on him and threatening to strip him of his possessions should he fail to pay the bill.

“They told me that they would take my clothes so I asked them to call the police because I feared for my life because I was alone,” he told the Inquirer.—Nancy C. Carvajal