ILOILO City – The city government will improve its slaughterhouse in Barangay Tacas, Jaro district.
According to Mayor Jerry P. Treñas, the slaughterhouse has been offered for public-private partnership (PPP) but investors lost interest with the emergence of the African Swine Fever.
“Kita na lang mapa-obra. Three years ta gin-offer sa PPP, waay interesado,” said Treñas.
The city government is eyeing a budget of P100 million to P150 million for the improvement of the slaughterhouse which includes the provision of a cold storage.
The design is being finalized and will be presented to him soon, said Treñas.
The city government-run slaughterhouse was constructed and became operational in the later part of 2007. It deteriorated after just a few years.
Treñas envisions an AAA slaughterhouse capable of producing export-quality meat.
Late last year, the Local Economic Enterprise Office (LEEO) that oversees the operation of the slaughterhouse together with the City Architect’s Office, City Engineer’s Office and City Environment and Natural Resources Office also met with the representatives of the Department of Agriculture – Philippine Rural Development Project (DA-PRDP) to discuss the objectives, processes and structures of the agency to align with the city government’s plans of improving and rehabilitating the slaughterhouse to give better facilities and services to the Ilonggos.
The city’s slaughterhouse failed to get any rating or classification – A, AA or AAA – from the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS), a specialized regulatory agency of the DA that is the country’s sole controlling authority on all matters pertaining to meat inspection and hygiene.
An A classification means meat from the slaughterhouse can be transported within the city only while an AA classification means the meat can be transported outside the city.
An AAA classification, on the other hand, means the meat from the slaughterhouse is safe enough to be shipped abroad.
The NMIS evaluated the slaughterhouse in May 2017 and recommended that the city government employ competent personnel to maintain the facility.
It also suggested that the slaughterhouse’s operation be privatized./PN
