Farmers Plaza apologizes for conduct of guard towards deaf couple

Emmanuel Bernardino and Robelyn Arcangel (Photo from the Facebook page of Robely Arcangel)

The management of Farmers Plaza issued on Tuesday a statement apologizing for the “untoward conduct” of a security guard towards a deaf couple by denying them entry into the mall in Cubao, Quezon City.

“Farmers Plaza extends our sincerest apology for the inconvenience the incident has caused,” the statement said.

The incident happened at around 3 p.m. last May 15.

The guard drove away from the mall deaf couple Robelyn Arcangel and Emmanuel Bernardino, both graduates of De La Salle-College of St. Benilde’s School of Deaf Education.

According to Arcangel, the guard kept cursing at them as he gestured for them to go away.

The couple did, but they were able to enter through another gate and report the incident to the mall management, which Arcangel said took swift action.

A video of the incident has gone viral on social media.

READ: Deaf couple mocked, driven away by security guard in Cubao mall; management takes quick action

Following is the full statement issued by Farmers Plaza:

“Our company was founded with the vision of service to the greatest number of people from all walks of life. We have and will always continue to uphold this tradition as we build a community that welcomes all and discriminates no one.

“On May 26, 2018, a social media post alerted us of an incident in our mall wherein a security guard allegedly displayed untoward conduct towards two PWD customers. The matter was immediately escalated to the mall management for investigation. We took the necessary steps to address this issue, and reiterated to our personnel our commitment to offer high levels of service in any situation.

“We would like to assure our community members that we have programs in place to continue training our frontliners on customer relations.

“Farmers Plaza extends our sincerest apology for the inconvenience the incident has caused. We believe the PWDs are a vital part of our community, and as with all our customers, we endeavor to serve them to the best of our ability.”

/atm