ANGELES CITY – Councilors Jay Sangil and Ruben Maniago yesterday expressed disappointment over the drowning incident in Bataan province leading to the death of two city hall workers last Saturday.
Sangil said that Odel De Guzman, 38 and Lester Tolentino, 22, both assigned at the City Mayor’s Office Records Section, should not have died if the order of the mayor banning team building seminars had been followed.
It was reported that some 20 employees of the city executive’s office and led by City Administrator Mark Allen Sison and City Information Officer Lourdes Naguiat, held a team-building seminar last September 5 at the Sunset Beach Resort in Barangay Poblacion, Morong, Bataan, in spite of the already poor weather conditions. At around 5:30 p.m. of that same day, the two victims went for a dip at the shallow waters of the beach when a strong current suddenly hit both of them that sucked them away. The body of Tolentino was found after a few minutes. However, De Guzman’s body was not found until 3 a.m. of September 7, Monday, two days after the incident.
Sangil and Maniago said what “displeased and surprised” them was that the seminar was pushed despite memorandum circular issued by the Office of the City Mayor earlier this year restraining all offices of the local government from holding such an event because of the budget difficulties of the city.
“They should set an example to other departments of the government by at least abiding by their own rules,” said the minority councilors. “And should have been be prudent enough to see the danger of holding a seminar by the beach in bad weather.”
In a text message, Sison said there was no memorandum issued by the mayor restraining the holding of seminars and that the event was a “personal outing.”
“Sana e na la makisake, mete na la pin ring tau, kakanyanan la pa. Bahala na la reng kaladua da ring mete karing publicity-seekers, (We hope they don’t ride on the issue anymore. Why do they still bother the dead? Let the souls of the dead deal with these publicity seekers)” Sison texted.
Sangil said that Odel De Guzman, 38 and Lester Tolentino, 22, both assigned at the City Mayor’s Office Records Section, should not have died if the order of the mayor banning team building seminars had been followed.
It was reported that some 20 employees of the city executive’s office and led by City Administrator Mark Allen Sison and City Information Officer Lourdes Naguiat, held a team-building seminar last September 5 at the Sunset Beach Resort in Barangay Poblacion, Morong, Bataan, in spite of the already poor weather conditions. At around 5:30 p.m. of that same day, the two victims went for a dip at the shallow waters of the beach when a strong current suddenly hit both of them that sucked them away. The body of Tolentino was found after a few minutes. However, De Guzman’s body was not found until 3 a.m. of September 7, Monday, two days after the incident.
Sangil and Maniago said what “displeased and surprised” them was that the seminar was pushed despite memorandum circular issued by the Office of the City Mayor earlier this year restraining all offices of the local government from holding such an event because of the budget difficulties of the city.
“They should set an example to other departments of the government by at least abiding by their own rules,” said the minority councilors. “And should have been be prudent enough to see the danger of holding a seminar by the beach in bad weather.”
In a text message, Sison said there was no memorandum issued by the mayor restraining the holding of seminars and that the event was a “personal outing.”
“Sana e na la makisake, mete na la pin ring tau, kakanyanan la pa. Bahala na la reng kaladua da ring mete karing publicity-seekers, (We hope they don’t ride on the issue anymore. Why do they still bother the dead? Let the souls of the dead deal with these publicity seekers)” Sison texted.
