Bacolod city gov't employees union chief apologizes for spoiled food served during party
BACOLOD CITY – The president of the Bacolod City Government Employees' Union has apologized for the spoiled food served during the Year-End Assessment and Employees' Day at the Bacolod City Government Center on Dec. 19.
"Such incident is not only a disservice to our employees who deserve nothing but the best but also a stigma that undermined the sacrifices of our hardworking BCGEU Board of Directors who spent countless hours away from their families just to ensure the success of the said event," BCGEU president Erry Lagtapon said.
Lagtapon said that he immediately called for an emergency board meeting the next day, together with the suppliers of the packed meals, and conducted an internal investigation.
"Admittedly, said suppliers pointed out that the extreme ambient temperature during transit as the probable cause of the spoilage based on their written statement," Lagtapon said.
He said they will enforce the provision of their Contract of Service that the BCGEU shall pay only the full amount stated in the contract to the supplier upon full delivery of the food packs in good condition.
"Any spoilage attributable to the supplier shall be replaced immediately during the activity, otherwise, it shall be deducted to the total contract price," he added.
Lagtapon said that they have not paid the suppliers a single cent until they fully determine the total number of spoilages based on the official written reports from the personnel of various departments or offices regarding the status of the food served to them during the event.
"This will be a tedious process. But due diligence should be observed to protect people's money," he added.
He assured that this will never happen again. "No more packed meals. No more spoiled food," he stressed.
Lagtapon said that changes will be done on how they organize activities in coordination with the City Mayor's Office to ensure the best is given to the employees.
The city government has started investigating the incident following concerns aired by numerous employees.
Mayor Greg Gasataya said the city government disbursed a total of P3.2 million through a cash advance to the BCGEU as the official organizer of this year's event. This amount covered all expenses, including the food for the 6,650 attendees.