The co-owner of the private resort in Laguna that went viral after being “trashed” by guests has spoken up.
In an exclusive interview with The Philippine STAR, 32-year-old Kathrine Llarenas detailed the incident caught on video that has been widely shared on social media.
On August 13, 2023, the venue was turned over to a group of guests who rented it for a birthday party at the price of P3,000 per night.
According to one of the co-owners of the resort, the venue can only accommodate a maximum capacity of 25 people. The guests, however, arrived in a group of 30. Despite exceeding the limit, the hosts allowed the group and did not charge any extra fees.
The hosts left the rental place in an orderly manner on Sunday but were met with the complete opposite the following day. Fortunately, a CCTV camera was able to capture the scene when the incident happened.
The footage showed how four men threw the resort’s properties, including monobloc chairs, tables, and even a water dispenser in the swimming pool. Wastes and leftovers were found scattered on the floor and floating in the pool.
“Seven silang naiwan but apat lang ‘yung nagbato. Mga ihawan, dispenser. Pati ‘yung mga bote ng alak, pati ‘yung pinagkainan nila sa cup. As in lahat ng kalat na nasa lamesa, tinapon nila,” Kathrine told STAR.
The men can be seen as if they were having a grand time hurling chairs at the pool while laughing together in the footage which went viral on social media after netizens expressed their anger towards the perpetrators.
“Maayos naman daw ang naging usapan ng caretakers at ng guests noong una, kaya laking gulat nila nang makita ang nangyari. Pinaalalahanan naman po nung agent kasi alam po niya talaga ‘yung rules simula pa lang. Hindi naman po trinato nang mali ng staff namin ‘yung mga guest,” she shared the staffs’ interactions with the guests prior to the incident.
According to the caretakers, they heard yelling and loud noises at around 4 a.m. which turned out to be the group vandalizing the place.
They also revealed that the guests even tried to take their deposit fee worth P1,000 from the caretakers despite the obvious damages done to the resort. The seven men immediately left the scene after not getting back their money. The caretakers also observed their drunk behavior and decided not to interact with them further.
Kathrine shared the disappointment of the staff who cleaned after the rowdy guests which took three days to return the resort to its original state.
“Disappointed din ‘yung mga staff kasi sobrang hirap linisin na nu’n, sobrang dumi mga two days kaming hindi naka-operate,” the co-owner said on behalf of the caretakers.
They then filed a complaint at their local barangay which was settled through an arrangement with the guests.
“Nagso-sorry naman sila. Kasama na po ‘yung mother nila. Nag-explain sila,” Kathrine said.
“‘Di nila alam kung bakit daw nila nagawa ‘yun. Sobra daw kalasingan but kung makikita mo sa video, hindi naman sila lasing na lasing. Kasi nabuhat pa nga ‘yung dispenser, eh. Diretso pa ‘yung lakad niya,” she added.
Despite everything, Kathrine, along with the co-owners, chose to let bygones be bygones and decided to settle the issue and accept their payment of P30,000 after compromising over P20,000 amounting to the loss from their rental income.
They also dropped the charges against the men in the video who were also revealed to have been fired from their jobs.
“‘Yung sitwasyon nila, inisip din namin. Kung kami ‘yung nasa sitwasyon, mawawalan ka na ng trabaho, magbabayad ka pa, makukulong ka pa,” Kathrine said on sympathizing with the offenders.
“We always believe [in] good karma. Si Lord na lang bahala sa kanila,” she added, “Naniniwala po kami na tayo nga, sinalo ng Diyos sa mga kasalanan natin. Tayo pa kayang normal na nagkakasala na hindi magpatawad sa mga tao?”
According to Kathrine, as a cancer patient, the incident has caused her financial and emotional stress saying that the rental place was her source of income to sustain her medical expenses.
“‘Wag nilang ulitin ‘yun. Lagi nilang iisipin kung anong pwedeng mangyari, sinong mga taong naaapektuhan,” she said, adding that their resort will start to tighten its accomodation due to the occurence.
“Sana hindi na rin ma-bash ‘yung mga tao na gumawa po sa’min no’n. Ipagpasa-Diyos natin ang lahat. Maniwala tayo na may mas magandang babalik pa sa’tin na ibibigay ng Lord,” Kathrine reiterated her forgiveness for the people behind the thrashing.
Meanwhile, STAR has reached out to the guests but has yet to receive a response.
