ROXAS City – Staff at a local restaurant were left shocked after falling victim to a scam involving a caller who impersonated Mayor Ronnie Dadivas to place a fake food order.
The incident took place on the evening of June 28, 2025. The restaurant’s cashier received a phone call from a man claiming to be Mayor Dadivas around 8 p.m. According to the shift manager, identified only as “Gay,” the caller ordered food worth P3,000 and requested to speak with the manager on duty.
Unfamiliar with the mayor, the manager — being originally from Iloilo City — did not question the caller’s identity. Gay said the caller’s voice sounded convincingly like the mayor’s, raising no initial suspicions.
Gay also noted that Mayor Dadivas has been a longtime customer and is friends with the restaurant’s owner. Hence, they did not initially think it was a scam.
The caller later changed the payment method, claiming he would pay via GCash. Despite the restaurant’s cash-on-delivery policy, the staff agreed, trusting the supposed identity of the caller. However, the restaurant did not have a GCash account at the time. The scammer then instructed them to visit another establishment and deposit the payment into his GCash account instead.
Although staff members began to notice inconsistencies in the transaction, they proceeded with the order, clinging to the possibility that the caller was truly the mayor, especially after he requested a manual official receipt (OR).
Upon delivery at Hotel Veronica where the caller claimed to be staying in, the receptionist confirmed that the city mayor was not checked in. Attempts to contact the caller afterward were unsuccessful. He became irate when the staff failed to follow his instructions and eventually blocked their number.
The restaurant later reported the incident to authorities, who are now tracing the scammer’s SIM card to identify the suspect. An incident report was also filed by the staff, while the scammed food items were written off as part of the company’s losses.
In response, Mayor Dadivas denied any involvement, clarifying that his office was not connected to the fraudulent order. He also revealed that a similar scam had previously occurred involving a pizza establishment, where P1,000 worth of food was fraudulently ordered using his name.
The restaurant staff said the incident taught them a valuable lesson, adding that they would now strictly verify customer identities before processing any unusual requests.
Mayor Dadivas urged the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity directly to the City Mayor’s Office at (036) 520-1520 for appropriate action./PN
