A Chinese restaurant in Las Pinas City is earning the ire of netizens after their staff reportedly refuse Filipinos from entering their premises.
A news team from television network TV5 tried to verify these complaints against the China Food City restaurant along Alabang-Zapote Road in Las Pinas.
A security guard stopped them from entering and requested the team to stop filming. “Yung kasing trabaho po namin, ginagawa lang naming mam,” the guard said.
Las Pinas business licensing unit confirmed to TV5 that the restaurant has already been issued license to operate last February.
And when they got calls from government hotline #8888 about the alleged discrimination practices, they went to the area. True enough, they confirmed that the restaurant is by invitation only — for Chinese nationals, staff, and employees.
“Ang paliwanag ng operations manager nila, hindi pa sila fully operational. Kaya naka-dry run pa lang kaya guests lang po talaga ang kanilang mga customers at di sila open to the public,” Jesus Wilfredo Gaerlan, acting head of Las Pinas Business Permits and Licensing Office, said.
TV5 reached out to MFD Cuisine which operates the China Food City. In a statement, Elma Lapesigue, owner of MFD Cuisine, said the restaurant is indeed “still not opened.”
“We are opening soon… once all permits are secured,” she said.
The owner said the restaurant will open on May 1.
One Youtube subscriber posted the video of China Food City and claimed he was able to dine inside the restaurant, although he is not a Chinese national.
Photo credit: The South Couple Facebook
