Manny Gonzalez is CEO and principal owner of Plantation Bay Resort and Spa, a popular destination resort in Cebu.
Plantation Bay is currently a trending topic on social media, but not for the right reasons.
It began when a concerned mother posted on TripAdvisor a negative review of the resort's customer service.
She related that whenever Fin, his son with special needs, gets excited or feels happy, he "makes it known by squealing with delight."
The mother and son were billeted at the Plantation Bay resort. The incident happened when they were in the swimming area, and Fin was enjoying his time in the pool, squealing every time he'd jump into the water.
A lifeguard then called their attention, and the mother's initial reaction was to ask her child with autism to be quiet, but Fin could not be stopped.
A second lifeguard approached the mother and asked again to keep her son quiet.
The mother had to explain that Fin is a child with special needs.
Still, the mother tried to shush the boy down to the point when she even "tried to cover his mouth."
It was then the mother realized this was all wrong.
Part of her review read (published as is): "The plan to swim the whole morning came to a halt. I asked Fin if we could go back to the room because we weren't allowed to squeal and be merry the special way.
"It's a discriminating experience. We often get this a lot. When normal people who are ignorant of people with special needs, give us that stare of please control your child.
"My Fin is a happy child. He has autism. He is special. Very special! I will never consider staying here ever again. No luxury of this proportion can make this experience okay because that is not what we need.
"We need a friendly and empathetic environment for kids and families with special needs."
Plantation Bay's response
A day after the review was posted, the resort responded with a lengthy statement explaining the staff's action.
Unfortunately for the resort, its response created more bad press.
The statement that was seen on the website had already been edited, but The Autism Society Philippines —which aired their support for the mother—managed to get a screenshot of the resort's original response.
The CEO Manny Gonzalez wrote his response using the account of Efren Belarmino, Plantation Bay's general manager.
In the original statement, the management accused the mother of lying about her son's autism, and further dismissed her story as a case of "simple parental neglect."
The full opening paragraph read, as copied from the screenshot: "Dear Tripadvisor Readers,
"For your information, uncontrolled shouting is not a symptom of autism. On the contrary, autistic children tend to be silent, nonverbal, and overwhelmed and withdram when faced with strangers. In fact, it is regrettably true that as autistic child will be happy [in] any public situation where they are faced with many unfamiliar people and surroundings. Google 'Autism' and verify this for yourself. Therefore this parent is most likely deliberately lying, or has been given an incorrect diagnosis of autism, when what the child more like [has] is a lack of discipline due to simple parental neglect.
"Children scream because they hope to attract the attention of parents who customarily ignore them, or because they hear screaming between their parents [at] home. If their parents would pay attention to them, [and] would refrain from screaming at each other, there [would] be no need for the child to scream. In our experience, one word from a responsible parent is enough to make [a] child quiet down."
This paragraph was completely deleted from the resort's statement after the backlash from social media.
Its edited version has kept the succeeding paragraphs explaining the resort's "strict policies regarding noise-making by anyone."
Read the original statement here.
Gonzalez's apology
However, by the time Gonzalez's edited response came out, his original version had already circulated on social media.
Angry netizens now demand "Boycott Plantation Bay" for its lack of sensitivity and compassion toward parents who have children with special needs and persons with special needs.
News anchor Karen Davila, who is herself a mother of a child with special needs, called out Gonzalez in her Twitter profile.
She said, posting a screenshot of the original statement: "Shame on you Manny Gonzales of Plantation Bay for trying to school a parent of a child with autism on what the symptoms are.
"You are a disgrace to the tourism industry. Your words & heartlessness do not belong in the world today that seeks to include all persons with needs."
Gonzalez had released an apology following his viral statement that angered concerned netizens even more.
Although his supposed apology addressed the "poor handling of a guest complaint," it continued to put emphasis on the "hotel's policy on keeping noise levels down in the pool and at the restaurant," reasoning it is "geared towards safety and relaxation for all the guests."
The statement explained that the resort tried to "apply this policy even-handledly" and added that because of this policy, "in almost 25 years we have never had a child die here."
It concluded: "A mother's pride is important, but more important are the lives of the children who come here."
Karen Davila responded to the apology and tweeted, "I stand up for all parents of kids with special needs. I understand our responsibility to manage the behaviour of our children, no parent deserves to be treated in this manner. A non apology apology just hurts even more."
The Autism Society Philippines reposted Gonzalez's apology and saw this as a "significant first step."
But it said the company "has a long way to go."
Who is Manny Gonzalez?
Gonzalez is a tourism entrepreneur, builder, designer, and author.
According to his credentials on the Plantation Bay's official website, he was born in Cebu, but was raised in Manila and Washington D.C.
He is the grandson of M.J. Cuenco, the late Senate president, former Cabinet secretary and governor of Cebu, and the great-grandson of Mariano Cuenco, founder of the first printing press in the Visayas Region of the Philippines.
Gonzalez had lived in various cities in the United States, including New York, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
He had lived in Vancouver, London, Paris, Barcelona, Rome, and Hong Kong.
He graduated with a degree in AB Humanities in Ateneo de Manila University and pursued a Master's degree at Columbia University in New York.
Gonzalez began a career in banking before putting up Plantation Bay. He also had a writing stint with the The Philippine Star.
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