Gaisanos demand apology from PAL

CEBU CITY, Philippines—“Apologize in public or face a lawsuit.”

This was the demand of a business family in Cebu who expressed dismay over the alleged shabby treatment by Philippine Airlines (PAL) of a 10-year-old girl, a member of the wealthy clan, who suffered burns caused by hot water that spilled on her during a flight to Manila.

“We’re not after material considerations. All we’re asking them (to do) is to issue a sincere apology in public and to settle things with us,” said lawyer Baldomero Estenzo.

Estenzo is the legal counsel of the girl’s parents—Glen and Valerie Gaisano-Sebastian.

The girl is a granddaughter of Eddie Gaisano, head of the Gaisano Capital Group. Her father helps run the family’s shopping mall chain in the Philippines.

Eddie’s brother, Benito, manages another chain of Gaisano malls in the country.

The Inquirer tried to contact Cielo Villaluna, press relations officer of PAL. She sent a text message saying she is abroad and would be able to reply upon her return to Manila on

March 20.

According to Estenzo, the girl and her parents were returning to Manila from Bangkok on Feb. 22 when the girl requested warm water from a flight attendant.

But the girl was given very hot water in a paper cup instead. The girl was unable to hold on to the cup, accidentally spilling the hot water on her leg and thigh.

According to Estenzo, instead of apologizing, the flight attendant insisted that what she gave the girl was warm, not hot, water.

Estenzo also alleged that the girl was not given first-aid treatment by the plane’s crew members.

When the plane landed at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport, the girl was not provided with a wheelchair. No PAL staffer guided the family on where to bring the girl and what to do.

The family brought the girl to St. Luke’s Medical Center in Taguig City.

In a medical certificate, Dr. Richard Enecilla said the girl suffered “second degree thermal burn.”

Estenzo wrote a letter to Jaime Bautista, PAL president, on behalf of the girl’s parents, asking him to take immediate action.

“My clients are now questioning why such incident happens in the nation’s flag carrier. Is your crew properly trained?” the lawyer said in the letter.

On March 5, Bautista wrote back to Estenzo and apologized to the Gaisanos. Bautista expressed “regrets” and gave an assurance that PAL management would act.

On March 6, Shirley Ho Vicario, former Philippine ambassador to Papua New Guinea, sent a text to Estenzo on behalf of Bautista, saying that PAL president wanted to meet the Gaisanos on March 10 between 7:30 a.m. and 9:30 a.m.

Eddie Gaisano, however, did not take the text as a reconciliatory gesture. He said it is not for Bautista to set the date and time of the meeting because PAL is not the aggrieved party.

Estenzo said he sent another letter to Bautista on March 18, asking Bautista to comply with the Gaisano family’s demands or face a lawsuit.

The demands include a public apology from PAL, dismissal of the female flight attendant who served the hot water, reimbursement of medical bills and updates on action taken against PAL crewmen involved in the incident.