What was supposed to be a momentous occasion for newlyweds Annabel Aquino and Christer Manabat turned out to become a nightmare, after a robbery that took place during their wedding at an exclusive resort in Batangas, losing items worth millions.
The incident was first made known in a TripAdvisor review that had gone viral, posted by a user called starblanket94, one of the guests at the wedding. Below is the full post:
2 of the villas we rented were runsacked [ransacked], causing us to lose millions worth of things (and memories).
We checked in at Club Balai, the place where the reception of the wedding we’ll be attending will be held. We rented 2 villas, located at different areas. ALL of us left the resort at around 2pm as the wedding was scheduled at 3pm (it was 30-45 minutes away). We came back to Club Balai at around 5pm, The front door was locked and as we were waiting for the person who was holding the key, we realized that the backdoor was already opened. (We checked all doors before we left and made sure they were locked) Almost 95% of the things we left behind were robbed (money, gadgets, IDs, wallets, etc.). We left these as we couldn’t bring all of them to the church and the reception would be at Club Balai anyway. Worse thing, the other villa we rented also got robbed. In total, we lost millions of pesos worth. Is it coincidence that we were robbed during the time that we were at the wedding? Obviously, the thieves knew that we will be gone during that time and won’t be back until later. It was also weird that they knew the units of the bride and groom respectively (it wasn’t side by side or across, FYI). Most of the guests came from abroad as the couple is based in the US.
They were able to check each and every room (1st floor to the attic) and all the luggage and bags we left on the floor closed or cabinet were found on the bed, opened.
We notified the staff as soon as possible and initially, they said the CCTVs around the area were FULLY FUNCTIONAL but later on admitted that the CCTVs in our area were broken since typhoon Glenda. Also, a same case of theft happened just last December 2015!! 2 months ago!! but the case was not pursued since the people involved were from the UK!!
We chose to hold our event in Club Balai as we knew it was private, SECURED and well known. How come they let this happen even after so many incidences? Our villa was even near the guard house and reception area!!!
What a very disappointing and embarrassing experience. I feel bad for the bride and groom who will always remember this horrible experience on the day that was supposed to be the best and most memorable for them.
[On actions taken by the resort management, there’s]nothing concrete yet. We were informed that a high level management meeting was held today but no update as to what was discussed was given. Nakapagsumbong na kami sa pulis on the day it happened. The police arrived while the reception was on going and the bride and groom were crying and in shock. Now, we are still waiting for any concrete action on their part.
We acknowledge your concerns, Marg. [the original poster]We deeply regret the events of February 13th and the negative effect that it’s had on the couple’s wedding day. Right now, we’re working with the police in figuring out exactly what happened.
There is no getting around the fact that this is a very serious incident, and we are doing everything we can to resolve this issue and figuring out a way to make sure it doesn’t happen again. Clearly, there are criminal elements that are exploiting weaknesses in our security and we are doing what we can to solve both problems.
Again, we feel for your family especially for the couple who got married. We always aim to give our guests the best experience we can, and we failed to do that this time around. We will update you as more information comes to light. As you know, we are already communicating with your family’s representative directly to better resolve the incident.
Thanks,
The Team at Club Balai Isabel