By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The Provincial Legal Officer (PLO) of Negros Occidental said yesterday morning that the recent case involving employees of the Office of the Provincial Agriculture (OPA) should be a lesson for employees of the provincial government.

The statement comes after five OPA personnel were slapped with show cause orders for allegedly holding a drinking session during an official travel in Victorias City last July 15.

PLO Atty. Alberto Nellas, Jr. said that Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson demands a high degree of accountability from the public officers.

“We should be responsible for our government properties. Especially now that we are implementing austerity measures to maximize the resources of the government,” Nellas pointed out.

He said that they are currently consolidating the replies of the respondents.

The Provincial Legal Office is expected to release their findings within 20 days or until the end of August.

Nellas said that they will determine if they will proceed with filing formal charges against the respondents.

“It will depend on the severity of the penalty if there is a need for a preventive suspension,” he said.

Asked about the reply of the concerned employees, Nellas described it as “admission with justification” as there was an official from the City Agriculture Office of Victorias City who invited them.

A formal complaint for misuse of government property and grave misconduct was filed by a capitol employee who serviced them while on official travel to Victorias City on July 15, 2022.

The complainant, a driver, claimed that he waited for the respondents until 8:00 p.m. but was later informed that they were at a restaurant allegedly having a drinking session.

The senior employee also allegedly uttered profane words when the driver confronted them./DGB, WDJ