The players and staff of the Talk N’ Text basketball team owned by the Philippine Long Distance and Telephone Company yesterday filed charges against Gulf Air, which cancelled their confirmed tickets from Dubai to Manila without any notice in 2011.
PBA Commissioner Chito Salud filed the case on behalf of the Talk N’ Text team, according to lawyer Melvin Mendoza, the league’s legal counsel.
Mendoza said the PBA was constrained to bring the issue to court in the wake of Gulf Air’s failure to give a satisfactory explanation regarding the unfortunate incident.
“We have written them several demand letters but up to this time, the airline company has not yet given a satisfactory explanation,” Mendoza said.
The case stemmed from Gulf Air’s refusal to board the players and officials of the PLDT team who had confirmed bookings on their return trip to Manila on July 2, 2011.
TNT, Barangay Ginebra and Barako Bull, together with the PBA staff, were part of the PBA delegation that went to Dubai on July 2011 to play official games to entertain Overseas Filipino Workers.
They did not encounter any problem when they left Manila for Dubai. But they did not expect to be subjected to a harrowing experience at the Dubai airport when they checked in for their return flight.
Some of the team members stayed at the airport and took their chance to book a flight with other airlines at their own expense while the rest opted to spend the night in a nearby hotel and catch a flight the next day.
The group is seeking actual, moral and other damages that would exceed P12 million. /pba media bureau