TWO casual employees at Lapu-Lapu City Hall have been fired for allegedly forging documents to steal an unclaimed cash gift for a senior citizen.
Mark Anthony Bautista, head of the City Public Information Office, confirmed the dismissals to SunStar Cebu, stating that an investigation was completed on Friday, Aug. 8, 2025.
The investigation was prompted by a formal complaint from Jan Ray Tumulak, the son of the beneficiary. He had asked Mayor Ma. Cynthia “Cindi” Chan to look into the fraudulent release of his late father’s P1,000 senior citizen birthday cash gift.
In a public Facebook post on Wednesday, Aug. 6, Tumulak explained that he went to the Office of the Senior Citizens Affairs on July 16 to claim the money. However, he was told to go to the City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) because his father, Antonio Tumulak, had passed away on July 2.
When he inquired at the CTO on July 18, he was shocked to learn the money had already been released with a thumbprint on file, even though no family member had received it.
Tumulak urged the City to find out who was responsible, stressing that such actions could damage the integrity of City programs.
“This is not about the amount of P1,000,” he wrote. “This is about ensuring that our city maintains its integrity. If cases like this are ignored, then it will not be a shock if people will not trust the administration anymore.”
The Human Resources Office, City Administrator’s Office, Barangay Mayor’s Office (BMO) and City Social Welfare and Development Office launched an investigation nearly three weeks after receiving the complaint.
According to the incident report, the two employees — a male and a female from the BMO — were dismissed from service for falsifying a signature on the payroll, a firing offense. Both have since admitted to the misconduct.
In response, Mayor Chan plans to revise the distribution process and is discussing with the CTO how to integrate it with the senior citizens’ assistance program. / DPC