Robinson's Dumaguete turns away foreigner with seeing eye dog

Making the rounds on Facebook this morning is a story about a visually impaired foreigner with a service dog, turned away by the guards, allegedly escorted to the police station instead.

Ahh, yes, this IS the real "city of gentle people". The management of Robinson's should be ashamed of themself (but I am certain they are not).

Larry

 

Having not made the *rounds* on the net I have not read anything. But when they took the elderly barely able to walk man and placed him in handcuffs to detain him then my wife entered into the foray if she might help the guards understand that the service dog has universal rights to go anywhere with its owner. It fell on deft ears and another mall employee actually joined in to defend the guards ignorance of action.

Just the facts listed..no derived connotations, name calling, or statements of emotional alarm and stress created added herein...

 

IT was not long ago they had a pet shop on the 2nd floor with smelly dogs barking all day . off topic, admin feel free to delete this I purchased a pan sized trout( 350 peso) its eyes were a bit dull but I took the risk on it got it home and when I opened it up it was rotten n black inside no more .

 

Are we sure that the guy was not allowed to get in ?? Have seen some pics on a other forum of the guy sitting on a small chair in front of the robinson mall , like he was not feeling good .??

 

Just read the FB page where most of the comments can be found and the general (Pinoy/Pinay) consensus is that the guard was doing exactly what he has been told by Rob Mgt, i.e. 'No pets allowed' inside the mall. However, he did not check with his superiors whether this case would be regarded as exceptional and that was his big mistake (not paid to also THINK). Apparently Rob Mgt is unfamiliar with Philippine Law which explicitly states that this sort of dog IS allowed in any sort of establishment open to the public. Airlines will also allow these dogs in the cabin accompanying there handler, how else would a Canadian be able to get to Duma. Apart from some hard-nosed comments (rules are rules and Rob owns the mall), the vast majority of the comments was extremely favorable towards the Canadian and urging him to take Rob to the cleaners via court...(good luck with that...).

 

funny because in Bacolod SM allow dogs in the mall as long as the dog is in a baby pram, I looked at this woman at an eatery with this dog on her lap feeding it by hand then eating her own food yuks, I asked the guard what going on he said its allowed sir as long as it is in the pram, emagine if someone brought a american pit bull in, the ball of fluff on this womans lap would be lunch.

 

And for another point of view, I am happy to find a place where 'service dogs' do not get carte blanche.

When my daughter, in Canada, was young she had a sever disability in that she was critically allergic to animal dander. So much so that being in the same room with a dog would have her in hospital for a week. BUT, the politically correct point of view was that people who use a 'service animal' should not be inconvenienced by something as banal as a critical allergy. . AND YET, if she had a nut allergy then no one in her school would even be able to eat a peanut butter sandwich.

 

This was posted on the Hulagway ug Kasikas sa Dumaguete Facebook page;

Hulagway ug Kasikas sa Dumaguete

Letter from Mark Cohen.
cc:TeamHUKAD
Hello all, For your information, this is the chronological dialogue that I’ve been having with the management of Robinson’s Mall. I appreciate their kind consideration.
My message to Robinsons:
My name is Mark Cohen. Director of The International Institute for Assistance Dog Training I am a medically-certified Person with a Disability and have a neurological disorder which necessitates my having an Assistance Dog to mitigate that disability. I am not blind, I can drive a car, but do have variant symptoms similar to epilepsy, Parkinsonism, and sensitivity to changes in the environment such as temperature and intensity of light. At one moment I can have a blood pressure measurement of 180/120 and 10 minutes later 70/40, resulting in syncope. I have learnt to live with my disability, do take medication in a compliant manner, and would be unable to function if I did not have my certified Assistance Dog “Happy” as my companion.
On August 17th I was denied access to the Robinsons Mall in Dumaguete when I was with my certified Assistance Dog “Happy”. The security guards employed by Robinsons Mall called the Police claiming I was “disturbing the peace”. The Police took me to the Police station in handcuffs, and later released me without charging me with any offense. The Republic Acts 7227 and 9442, and Batas Pambansa Blg. 344, which are laws of the Government of the Philippines, do in fact allow me access with my Assistance Dog to your mall and to any public place or mode of transport.
The International Institute for Assistance Dog Training is an informal volunteer non-profit organization that strives to teach professionals, students and families how to train dogs to be Assistance Dogs for People with a Disability. We freely distribute information explaining the tasks and benefits of Assistance Dogs, and attempt as best we can to help to educate the public regarding national and international access laws for medically-certified Persons with a Disability that have certified Assistance Dogs or Guide Dogs that have been specifically trained to mitigate their disability.
We are currently producing a documentary on Rights of Access to Public Places and Transportation by People with a Disability (PWD) who have the need of an Assistance Dog to mitigate their disability. Since 2004 we have covered the countries of Canada, the U.S., Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Israel, Ecuador, Colombia and Chile, and are currently producing in the Philippines. I'm preparing some documentation for you.
On Monday August 25th you can visit my website, Facebook pages, and YouTube channel, all containing photos, videos, interviews, documentation with excerpts from the laws of the Philippines and other countries, as well as international laws that all protect the rights of access for Persons with a Disability in the presence of their certified Assistance Dogs.
I won't visit the mall again until I've spoken with you at your convenience, and when you've had time to review all the documentation and videos. I want to work with you to make my next visit to your mall a very positive event for Robinsons Mall, Persons with a Disability, and the citizens of the Philippines in general.
I arrived in the Philippines Thursday August 14th. I plan to retire here, and am very happy to be here. I have lived in many countries in Asia, South and Central America, the Middle east and North America, and the Philippines is my favorite. Thanks in advance for your kind consideration.
Any questions or concerns please let me know. Please say hello the security guard Wiley for me. He's a really nice guy.
Mark Cohen Globe: +63 9179 611 134 Smart: +63 9184 524 213 Email: mcohen.iiadt@gmail.com


Larry

 

Agreed but the Danger is, Robinsons in Dumaguete may well ignore it. That is supposing, they ever get to see it. like so many things, it takes forever, for things to get to the outlying places, take the BOI for 1 instance. the plight of this man is totally Understood by Us but lets not Forget, where we are !


JP