Strange (and delicious) things are happening to the offices of the vice mayor and three councilors in the Queen City of the South, Cebu City.
According to a report by SunStar, a prank caller has been calling food establishments in the area and placing orders to be delivered to the government officials’ offices.
In the office of Cebu City Vice Mayor Edgardo Labella on Wed, Sep 21, four kilos of original and spicy lechon (roasted pig) and five kilos of crispy pata (pork knuckles) worth nearly PHP 3,000 were delivered. PHP 700 worth of softdrinks was included in the order.
It was a good problem — especially since Cebu makes the greatest lechon in the country (just ask Anthony Bourdain) — until the delivery woman brought up the issue of the bill.
With no one in the office placing the order, Vice Mayor Labella ended up footing the bill.
“The delivery woman was worried because the lechon had already been chopped so the vice mayor paid her,” office staff Jovy Montecillo told SunStar.
The office did not pay for the crispy pata and the cellphone load worth PHP 500 that the brazen prankster asked from the restaurant.
This is just the beginning of a series of delivery-related pranks to government offices.
That same day, three boxes of lechon costing PHP 3,600, softdrinks, and burgers from a fast food chain arrived in the office of Councilor Mary Ann delos Santos.
Delos Santos’ staff refused to pay for the delivery.
Also that day, Councilor Jerry Guardo received PHP 3,215 worth of burgers from a fast food chain.
This happened again on Fri, Sep 23, with PHP 2,000 worth of burgers.
Guardo’s office also did not accept and pay for the delivery.
“It was risky on our part had we accepted the order. We didn’t know where it came from. It may have something,” Guardo’s staff, Joanne Vallentos, said.
Also on Wed, more lechon and drinks worth PHP 3,000 arrived in the office of Councilor Sisinio Andales in Mandaue City. The prankster also asked for cellphone load worth PHP 700 from the restaurant. Andales’ staff also recalled getting a delivery of four vegetable salads earlier that week, but declined to accept and pay for the food.
The incidents have been reported to Dave Tumulak, chairperson of the City Council’s committee on public order and safety and the deputy mayor for police matters.
“I feel bad for the establishments because they’re not getting paid,” Tumulak told SunStar in Cebuano.
Tumulak adds that he advised the establishments to verify calls and orders and for the police to trace the number used by the prank caller/s.
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