Bantul SPPG facility shut and accountant fired for mocking MBG victims

Viral Video Triggers Regional Backlash in Bantul

The controversy erupted after Gerardus Permanaditya, working as an accountant and financial supervisor for the SPPG unit in Muntuk, published a video on social media platforms eating fried katsu prepared by the facility. In the recording, he joked that his memory had vanished by 70 percent while laughing.

The video quickly drew widespread condemnation because it was perceived as a direct mockery of female students from Karo, North Sumatra, who had fallen ill and required medical treatment at Cipto Mangunkusumo Hospital (RSCM) following meals distributed through the MBG program. Although Gerardus subsequently posted an apology video, he deflected blame onto accounts that shared the original footage rather than addressing the core insensitivity, further fueling public outrage.

Government Officials and National Leadership Condemn the Incident

The online backlash caught the attention of high-ranking government figures, including Vice President Gibran Rakabuming Raka. Taking to his official Instagram account on Sunday, September 20, 2026, the Vice President characterized the employee’s behavior as an unacceptable form of public bullying.

The remarks made by the SPPG staff member are deeply regrettable, Gibran wrote in his official statement, emphasizing the necessity of preserving safe and welcoming public spaces for everyone, particularly children. Local municipal leaders similarly voiced frustration over the fallout. Hermawan Setiaji, Assistant for Government and People’s Welfare for the Bantul Regency Regional Secretariat, noted that the stunt actively undermined local government efforts to bolster community trust in the nutrition program.

Disciplinary Action and Facility Closure

Swift administrative consequences followed the public outcry. Wirandita Gagat Widyatmoko, Regional Coordinator for the National Nutrition Agency (BGN) for the Special Region of Yogyakarta (DIY), announced that Gerardus had been officially terminated from his post on Monday, September 21, 2026, following formal disciplinary reviews.

This serves as a lesson for the entire personnel structure that working within the MBG Program requires not only technical proficiency but also ethics, empathy, sensitivity, and communicative responsibility, Gagat stated in an official release.

The termination created an immediate operational bottleneck at the Muntuk facility. According to municipal regulations outlined by Hermawan Setiaji on Tuesday, September 22, 2026, an active SPPG kitchen cannot legally function without its core administrative triad consisting of a unit head, an administrative officer, and a designated accountant or financial manager. Because the fired employee held the financial post, the kitchen was left without a qualified accountant to clear daily transactions, forcing a temporary shutdown while administrators seek a replacement.

Broader Implications for Public Service Delivery

The closure highlights the delicate administrative dependencies inherent in rapidly scaling public welfare initiatives. Administrative and financial compliance requires strict oversight, and structural disruptions at the local level can temporarily halt food distribution logistics until personnel replacements are fully vetted and onboarded.

As regional BGN authorities manage the transition, public administrators and community stakeholders emphasize that maintaining institutional integrity relies equally on technical food-safety protocols and professional conduct among frontline personnel. Restoring routine operations at the Muntuk facility depends entirely on successfully recruiting a qualified financial administrator to satisfy statutory staffing requirements.