ANGER, anxiety, and frustration are what the some 30 clients of a wedding coordinator felt after learning they have been allegedly scammed of their dream wedding in Davao City.
According to one of the victims, Dollee May Etrata, they already paid for their scheduled wedding on July 5, 2022, to their wedding organizer identified by victims as Jay Lacs Loyd Blanco Semblante who is also known to some as alias Ysaac Blances.
“Full pay na po 65k sa wedding package ug mga lahi pa na additional para ma achieve ug naay memories po sa wedding namu naiabut na jud mi ug 85k (We already paid P65,000 for the wedding package and additional charges that reached up to P85,000, so that we will have a memorable wedding),” Etrata said in an interview with SunStar Davao on June 26, 2022.
Etratra said they just hope that they will get their money back.
“Bisan ibalik nlng amung kwarta maam. Kay giipunan jud namu to for three years para maachieve among dream wedding. Kung dili man niya mahatag dayun bisan i staggered niya basta mabalik, kung dili magfile mi case niya tungod sa iyang binuhatan dili lang sa amua pate ang lain pud na mga couples (We want him to refund to us what we paid him because we saved it for three years. If he can’t pay us right away, it can be paid staggered. For as long as we will be paid. Or else we will file a case against him,” Etrata said.
Etrata is set to file a blotter of this incident to the police as of this writing.
The victims claimed that the alleged scammer will collect and offer a “too good to be true” wedding package. Once the client books with him, they will not be able to hear from him again.
“Pag mag sige ka'g question sa iyaha, iyaha kang kasab-an ug dili idayon imung event pero dili ka refunan (If you will ask him questions he will reprimand you and he will threaten to cancel the event and not refund your payment),” Anthony Puay, one of the suppliers that Blances used to tap, said.
He also claimed that this has been an ongoing issue since 2020.
“Sa actual day sa kasal, dili na mag pakita, daghan palpak, kay daghan kinupit, it's either wala kay cake, wala kay catering, wala kay venue, walay kay photographer or walay sound and lights on the day sa kasal kay wala niya gi book (On the day of the wedding, he will not show up, there’s a lot of mishaps, no cake, no catering, no venue, no photographer or even sounds and lights because he did not book it),” Puay said.
He also said a police blotter have been filed before on the suspect's alleged actions
“After sa kasal if mo-reklamo ka, mosugot na siya mag-adto mo sa barangay, mag permahanay, na kuno refund siya, pero naa sa sabot ninyo bawal siya ipost (social media) kay naa na sa inyuha sabot, so loophole niya na para maka padayon to silence the victim, daghan nag-atang sa refund mga past victims, hangtud karon naga hulat sa wala, until ni buto nani na issue wala na gyu’y musukol na event supplier kay Ysaac, kay lage, nag lobo na mga utang (After the wedding, if you will complain, he is fine with barangay negotiations and he will promise that he will refund the client’s payment but you will both have to agree that you will not post anything on social media. This, I think, is the loophole to silence the victim. A lot of the victims are still waiting for a refund until this issue went viral),” Puay said.
Meanwhile, after the post of one of the victims, Maria Soledad Gabion, went viral on Facebook with 2,200 shares, several event organizers and suppliers have reached out to the victims and offered free services for their wedding day.
“Simple raman nuon, naluoy me tanan sa mga couple na na scam ni sir lacs. Isa pa its payback time pud sa mga ubay ubay na blessings na mutabang sa mga naagrabyado kay dili lalim ang ilang mga gibati na kaguol ug kakulba dala pagmahay kay gihaguan sa couple ang money. Part ra siguro gyud sa social responsibility ug diri pud nako nakita na daghan kaayo willing mutabang na walay kapalit which is maka happy ug taman, na dili lang gyud kwarta kwarta ang tanan (We feel bad for the couple[s] that sir Lacs scammed. This is a way of paying back to all the blessings we have received because this is not easy for those who have felt anxiety, frustrations, and regrets. After all, they have worked hard to earn the money. It is also part of our social responsibility and I also found out that there are a lot of people who are willing to help, and that everything is not all about money),” Gabriel Carlo Napao Lasa of G Events Creation said.
As of now, the Anti-Scam Unit (ASU) of Davao City, Simplicio Sagarino said they have not received a complaint yet but they are expecting to have it soon while the victims are set to meet the National Bureau of Investigation to seek help after filing their Police blotters. KSD