Photo Courtesy: Xandra Liza | FB
A Facebook post by Lea Organa, shared by consumer advocate Xandra Liza, has drawn public outrage after recounting how she and her autistic son Eli were forced out of Starbucks SM City Pampanga despite being paying customers. Advocates are now asking if the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) will investigate the incident and impose corrective measures on Starbucks management.
Organa said Eli, a registered person with disability (PWD), Gestalt Language Processor, and autistic, needed to stay near the mall exit for regulation. They brought a specialized car seat and safe food essential for him.
“When the security guard approached us about the ‘no outside food’ policy, I explicitly disclosed Eli’s PWD status. The personnel and the manager did not budge,” she wrote.
Instead of providing reasonable accommodation under Republic Act 7277 or the Magna Carta for PWDs, Organa said management told them to sit outside the mall.
“They forced a mother, a child with a disability, and a heavy piece of adaptive equipment out of the safe, air-conditioned mall and into the heat of the exterior. My son ended up eating on the floor outside the store because the branch management treated a disability accommodation as a policy violation,” she recounted.
Organa questioned whether Starbucks Philippines and SM City Pampanga valued their “No Outside Food” rule over the rights of PWDs.
“Starbucks Philippines and SM City Pampanga (official), is this your ‘No Outside Food’ rule more important than the Magna Carta for PWDs?” she asked.
“Inclusion is a verb, not a marketing slogan. We deserve better,” she added.
Consumer advocates stressed that the incident highlights the need to assert inclusivity in relation to consumer rights, urging authorities to ensure businesses comply with disability laws.
Calls are mounting for DTI to step in, investigate, and enforce corrective measures to prevent similar violations. (RRN)
