Woman from Manila faces charges over hotel bills
The Office of the Cebu City Prosecutor has indicted a woman from Manila for leaving her hotel room without paying her bills amounting to P388,508 for a five-month stay in the hotel.
Prosecutor Maria Lourdes Bragat-Quilitorio found evidence to charge Johanna Bona, of West Greenhills Subdivision in San Juan City, Manila, with estafa before the Regional Trial Court.
“Defraudation was indubitably shown as the respondent and her minor son had surreptitiously departed from the hotel, leaving a huge amount of unpaid bill,” Quilitorio’s resolution.
A P40,000 is set for Bona’s temporary freedom.
The case stemmed from the complaint filed by the man- agement of Cebu Grand Hotel, where Bona and her 11-year old son checked-in on Jan. 21, 2017.
The accused left the hotel without checking-out on June 19, 2017.
The hotel management learned that Bona left the hotel without paying her dues after her son left the hotel on June 21, 2017.
Bona paid their hotel bills only for the period Jan. 4 to Feb. 24, 2017, and the balance due remains unpaid.
Bona reportedly offered to settle her balance, but failed to do so, prompting the hotel management to lodge the complaint.
Bona failed to submit her counter-affidavit, so government prosecutors resolve the complaint based on the evidence presented by the hotel management.
In the resolution, Prosecutor Quilitorio indicted Bona of estafa, saying that the latter did not bother to check out from the hotel.
“It is also worthy to note that respondent’s son secretly left the hotel few days after the complainant sent a letter of demand for payment for the hotel bill to the respondent,” the resolution read.
Last November, Prosecutor Van Russel Inopiquez charged American Christopher Muller with estafa before the Regional Trial Court.
Muller left Marco Polo Plaza Hotel Cebu without paying his due amounting to P15,043 last May 20, 2017.
Muller, of New York City, checked in Marco Polo Plaza last May 14, 2017, and was supposed to check out on May 20.