Are “poor people” really prohibited in a posh mall in Makati City?
No, Ayala Land said that it's not true.
Earlier, a photo of a signage prohibiting “poor people” in Greenbelt mall circulated in social networking sites Thursday, drawing the ire of several Filipinos including TV personality Denise Laurel and singer Kyla.
“This is disgusting,” Laurel said in her @D_Laurel Twitter account, as she retweeted a photo of the signage that contained this statement:
“This is a private, controlled environment. Poor people and other disturbing realities strictly prohibited. Thank You!”
The signage also bears what appeared to be a Greenbelt logo and “Ayala Land Corporation.”
Kyla replied to Laurel’s tweet and said: “I saw that picture :( just plain bad. Yeah. I hope that's fake. Definitely a bad joke...”
Ayala Land denies posting 'fake sign'
Several hours after the photo circulated, Ayala Land, which manages Ayala Malls including Greenbelt, issued a statement denying that the signage was from their office.
"This is regarding the alleged signage that has been posted today, 24 March 2011, at the Greenbelt Mall, a photo of which has been circulating online. This signage is not authorized and is not part of Greenbelt ’s official mall signage," Ayala Land, Inc. said.
“We would like to reassure everyone that Greenbelt is for the enjoyment of the public and the community it serves,” Ayala Land added.
“The Ayala Malls Management does not tolerate any pranks. We shall be coordinating with the proper authorities for corresponding actions to be taken,” Ayala Malls added.
Possible motive
Jorge Miguel Marco, head of Corporate Communications of Ayala Land Inc. told Yahoo! Southeast Asia there were a number of malicious posters around the Greenbelt area but they were "only there for a short time."
Marco said security guards discovered the posters.
"There were some posters. It was scattered. As far as we know it was put up early morning," Marco said in a phone interview.
"It was really a hoax," he added.
Marco said investigations are ongoing and they are also determining the motive behind the incident. He mentioned they already have "some leads."
When asked whether they were looking at competitors as culprits, Marco said: "Let's not speculate as to who the culprit might be. The investigation is ongoing and we hope to find out more about this."