THE Civil Service Commission has taken to task Senate employees who have turned the chamber’s offices into a shopping center where clothes and other personal accessories are being hawked during office hours.
CSC Commissioner Aileen Lizada said the CSC-National Capital Region has kicked off an investigation into the reported rampant selling by several Senate employees of garments, shoes, bags, and other imported items inside the different offices in the Senate building.
Lizada reminded workers in the public sector that selling of goods during office hours inside government agencies is being prohibited by the CSC to ensure that employees concentrate on doing their jobs so they can give quality service to the public.
Having a “sideline” will divert their attention, she also said.
“We prohibit the selling of any goods in all government offices during office hours because civil servants should remain focused on giving their 100 percent to public service and not use their offices for personal gain,” she added.
Lizada said the order for a probe into the unauthorized activities of Senate employees was spurred by a video footage which was supposedly recorded by a hidden mobile camera showing a Senate employee accepting payment from two “customers” and handing over a plastic full of clothes.
The video also caught a signage with an arrow pointing to the direction of a spa offering massage and pedicure services.
The video footage was supposedly secretly taken inside the office of the Senate’s Public Relations and Information Bureau and involved a female staff of the bureau.