By CESAR JOLITO III

The Bacolod City Government Employees’ Union (BCGEU) has issued a public apology following a food spoilage incident during the Bacolod City Government Year-End Assessment and Employees’ Day held on December 19.

In a statement, BCGEU President Erry Lagtapon expressed regret over the incident, describing it as a disservice to city government employees and an unfortunate blemish on the efforts of the union’s board of directors, who worked extensively to organize the activity.

Lagtapon said the BCGEU immediately convened an emergency board meeting the day after the event, attended by the suppliers of the packed meals, and launched an internal investigation.

Based on the suppliers’ written statements, extreme ambient temperature during food transit was cited as the likely cause of the spoilage.

As a result, the BCGEU announced it will strictly enforce provisions in its contract of service, which state that payment to suppliers will only be made upon full delivery of food packs in good condition.

Any spoiled items attributable to the supplier must be replaced during the activity or deducted from the total contract price.

Lagtapon clarified that, as of this writing, the union has not released any payment to the suppliers pending the completion of official written reports from various city departments detailing the condition of the food they received.

He acknowledged that the validation process would be lengthy but stressed that due diligence is necessary to safeguard public funds.

To prevent a recurrence, the BCGEU said it will discontinue the use of packed meals for future activities and coordinate with the Office of the City Mayor to improve event organization and ensure better services for employees.

“We assure our fellow employees that this will never happen again,” Lagtapon said, reiterating the union’s apology to Bacolod City government workers affected by the incident./CJ, WDJ