BACOLOD CITY – Four government workers under the City Engineering Office (CEO), particularly the Supply and Property Section, are in hot water after Mayor Greg Gasataya discovered 4,786 hardened cement bags at the CEO warehouse in Barangay Taculing and another storage facility in Barangay Alijis here over the weekend.

“We will definitely relieve them of their functions effective today,” Gasataya said, as he announced the issuance of a show cause order to these four employees in Monday’s press briefing at the Bacolod City Government Center (BCGC).

He said they are assigned to accept and release materials being purchased by the city for the projects.

Gasataya conducted a spot inspection on Saturday, Sept. 6, and discovered 4,686 cement bags from the Bacolod City College (BCC) compound in Barangay Taculing, and 100 more in another warehouse in Barangay Alijis that have solidified and become unusable.

“It could have gone a long way, for building additional classrooms, barangay infrastructure projects, and more,” said Gasataya who expressed disappointment upon discovering the wasted construction materials estimated to be worth P1.1 million.

"This is an insult to the taxpayers. Instead, it became dust, neglected, wasted, and gone," the mayor said, adding that he has ordered a full investigation on the matter. "Heads will roll. This will not be swept under the rug. We cannot and we will not allow this kind of neglect to go unanswered," he added.

Gasataya said that they will assign a new team in the Supply and Property Section while the investigation is ongoing.

“There’s something that needs to be done. This might be painful and there will be resistance, but we will do something out-of-the-box. If this means filing cases, we will do so," he said.

City Engineer Loben Rafael Ceballos confirmed that some of the cement bags have been stored for several years, dating back to when supplies were moved from the old storage area during the construction of the BCC complex.

“The hardened cement came from the old warehouse, that's why we made it into a bedding for the new cements to avoid damaging the stocks but due to the number of stocks, this happened,” Ceballos said.

Gasataya said that he has ordered Ceballos to explain and submit a written report on the status of all projects being implemented by the city government under the supervision of the CEO within 24 hours.

He added that he has received reports that some projects have yet to be completed since 2022 or earlier.

“We will have an overhaul of the department, considering what we have discovered,” Gasataya said.

Gasataya said that they will follow where the evidence will lead them. “We will wait for the outcome of the investigation of the City Legal Office (CLO) for the appropriate legal action,” the mayor added.

The discovery was a result of the mayor's directive to the newly formed Inventory Team to conduct a comprehensive audit of all government assets, including stocks and supplies under the CEO.

Gasataya said that they will convene a disposal committee to assess and study the legal way of disposing the hardened cement and determine if they can still be used.

He added that he has instructed to prepare or rent a warehouse where they can put the cement bags that can still be used as part of the actual inventory. “We will check if the list provided is similar to the data from the actual inventory,” he said.

Gasataya told department heads during Monday's flag raising ceremony to inform him if there are similar situations to enable the city to address these. “Don’t surprise me and the people about these situations in your offices (if there is),” he said.

To prevent future wastage, the local government has initiated the construction of a P67 million warehouse in the Bredco area, with completion expected within the year. “We will ensure that these things will not happen again in the city,” Gasataya stressed.

Gasataya said that he doesn’t want to pinpoint the possible responsibility of the previous administration and would just follow the flow of the investigation. “This is nothing political, as these are day-to-day obligations and responsibilities that need to be addressed,” he added.

He said that he is in good terms with former Mayor and now Bacolod City Rep. Albee Benitez. “We are okay, politically, and professionally,” he said.