Pranksters send P8,000 worth of food to Iloilo City mayor’s office

ILOILO CITY, Philippines – Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas is the latest personality to fall victim to the now-common food delivery prank.

On Tuesday, April 5, an unknown person ordered P8,270 worth of meals from an establishment in Jaro district, which consisted of 30 orders of spaghetti, 19 Mushroom Swiss burgers, 11 Double-Double chicken burger meals, and two sets each of three fried chicken flavors.

In a statement, the mayor said that he just paid for the entire order so that the establishment’s employees who processed the order would not have to foot the bill.

He also warned both food establishments and those who make prank orders not to do it again. Treñas implied that politics could have been the motive, given that the country is in the middle of a local and national campaign season.

“Please always double-check all orders because there are persons who wish to make a prank order at the expense of some trusting individuals. Please double-check all orders, especially those allegedly made by political candidates. I pity the employees who will have to shoulder the said unnecessary orders,” he said.

Treñas later told Rappler that the establishment called his office at around 5:30 pm when he was no longer there and that the meals were distributed to workers in his office and those in neighboring offices at the city hall.

This had happened previously to other politicians and celebrities, including the late Cebu City mayor Edgar Labella, and actress Kris Bernal, among others.

In 2020, Ako Bicol Representative Alfredo Garbin Jr. filed a bill that would penalize those who commit similar prank orders at the expense of riders or unsuspecting customers and those who cancel orders at the last minute. (READ: House bill seeks jail for pranking food delivery riders, canceling orders)

The penalties include possible jail time from 6 to 12 years. – Rappler.com

Joseph B.A. Marzan is a Visayas-based journalist and a recipient of the Aries Rufo Journalism Fellowship.