BACOLOD City Mayor Greg Gasataya has issued show cause orders to four City Government employees assigned to the supply and property section of the City Engineer’s Office (CEO) on Monday, September 8, 2025.
This was after the mayor discovered at least 4,800 hardened cement bags in the city’s warehouse in Barangays Taculing during the inspection on Saturday, September 6.
“We will have an overhaul in this department after the discovery of the said supply of the city,” Gasataya said.
He said the four employees, who were also relieved from their posts effective September 8, were given 24 hours to submit their answer on the said incident.
He added that he will assign new personnel to the supply and property section to ensure the safety and quality of the city’s supplies.
On Saturday, the mayor inspected the city’s warehouses and the old City Engineer’s Office (CEO) in Barangays Taculing and Alijis, including the Midway Facility that was used during the Covid-19 pandemic but now serves as temporary office storage for various departments.
Gasataya said he already ordered for the clearing of the warehouse in Barangay Taculing so they can transfer the remaining supplies that intended to various projects here.
“I instructed them to rent a warehouse so we can transfer all the cements and to count the hardened cement bags,” he said.
The mayor noted that the CEO only gave them an initial number of 4,800 hardened cement bags and there’s a possibility that it will increase.
“We need to get all the supplies so we can have an exact number of hardened cement bags,” Gasataya said.
He said he will convene the disposal committee to determine the legal way of disposing the hardened cement bags, and all the documents will be forwarded to the City Legal Office for appropriate action.
“We will ensure that these things will not happen again in the city. We will follow where the evidence lead us,” he added.
Engineer Loben Ceballos, CEO head, earlier said this kind of problem is unavoidable due to the condition of the warehouse, which is full of stock, especially construction materials.
He said they have an ongoing construction of a new warehouse along the Reclamation Area, which costs P67 million, to address the problem.
“But while the construction is ongoing, we cannot avoid having damaged materials,” he added.
Ceballos noted that based on their report, the hardened bags of cement had been stored for several years, dating back to when supplies were moved from the old storage area during the construction of the Bacolod City College (BCC).
On August 29, 2025, Gasataya issued a memorandum creating a team composed of the Internal Audit, General Services Office, and CEO to conduct an inventory of the city’s stocks and supplies. (MAP)