CEBU CITY, Philippines—Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella will be prohibiting all departments of the city government to conduct team building and other crowd-gathering activities.
Labella’s announcement came after photos of several City Hall employees doing out-of-town team building activities went viral on social media over the weekend.
“I will issue a memorandum sometime today or tomorrow that we will no longer be allowing team building activities in all the departments of the city government,” Labella told reporters in a press interview on Monday, November 16, 2020.
The mayor also said he has already issued a memorandum to the Division for the Welfare of the Urban Poor (DWUP) and City Treasurer’s Office (CTO) to explain why they were holding team building activities in northern towns of Cebu over the weekend.
“We will determine if the employees involved have violated any orders and health protocols. We will investigate it. If they did (violate) , they could be held liable,” said Labella in a mix of Cebuano and English.
“(Sanctions) depend on the gravity of the case. But they could face reprimand or suspension,” he added.
Read: Labella to private sector: Forego physical Christmas parties
On Monday, the city’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) also said that gatherings, including parties and drinking sprees, have contributed to the recent rise of new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Cebu City.
In the past six days, data from the Department of Health in Central Visayas (DOH-7) showed that the city logged double-digit numbers in its daily tally of new COVID-19 cases.
The city is under modified general community quarantine (MGCQ), which is expected to last until November 30.
/bmjo