BACOLOD City Hall employees who were caught watching an entertainment program on television (TV) during an office hour last week may face administrative sanction, City Administrator Pacifico Maghari III said Monday, March 27.
Maghari said there’s already been an initial explanation, and the employees involved also apologized.
He said the written explanation will be forwarded to the City Legal Office (CLO) for the administrative cases, adding that if the evidence is sufficient, they will also refer it to the CLO for the show cause order.
Maghari noted that they are still finalizing the identities of the personalities caught in the picture.
On March 22, a picture showing city hall employees watching an entertainment program on TV at about 3 p.m. was sent to Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez by a concerned citizen.
The General Services Office (GSO) was already tasked with issuing property return slips as per the mayor's directive.
GSO records showed Bacolod City has a total of 133 TV sets installed in various offices as part of the city’s assets.
"So far, we have identified five individuals, but we are still validating their identities to determine if they are regular or job order employees of the city," Maghari said.
Maghari explained that the TV sets were installed in various officers during the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic due to the minimal manpower at the BCGC and that communications were done online.
Benitez said this will serve as a warning to the city employees to perform well and not use their time watching TV or playing on their cellular phones.
He said those who violate the rules will face administrative sanctions.
The GSO was already tasked with removing the TV sets from various offices, and they can be used by the city for a particular purpose or will be distributed to different schools, he added.*