BY MARY JOY CAVAÑAS
ILOILO City – The Iloilo City Government and the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) have signed a P180-million loan agreement for the construction of the city’s state-of-the-art AAA slaughterhouse.
Mayor Jerry P. Treñas and DBP-Iloilo branch head, Senior Assistant Vice President (SAVP) Rodel Bustillo, led the signing of the loan deal yesterday at the City Mayor’s Office.
Also joining the signing were DBP-Iloilo Lending Officer, SAVP Jessica F. Juanico; DBP Legal Officer, Atty. Kenneth Alovera; Atty. Fydah Sabando of the Iloilo City Legal Office; Local Economic Enterprise Office head Maricel Mabaquaio; and Liezel Quindong.
“Ang kinanglan ta is really for triple A (AAA) na kay ti bal-an niyo ga-improve ang syudad, nagami ang aton sitwasyon,” Treñas said.
The city mayor said he had visited a USD12-million slaughterhouse in South Korea, but he admitted that the city government cannot afford the same.
“Indi pa ta kasarang sang mga amo na kay ila to fully automated, may robots pa. Ang bilog nga carcass ginahiwa sang robot. Ultimately siguro we’ll lead to that pero in the meantime amo ni anay ang aton nga pa-obra para safe gid ang tanan sa mga baboy kag baka nga ginakaon nila,” Treñas added.
Treñas said instead of improving or reconstructing the current slaughterhouse in Barangay Tacas, Jaro district, a new building for the state-of-the-art AAA slaughterhouse would be constructed.
“Bag-o gid ni ya nga building kay ang desisyon sang aton nga team, better nga bag-o nga building sang sa gub-on ta kag i-reconstruct. This is a new building, new equipment para nga mas manami,” he stressed.
As of this writing, there is no date yet as to the start of the construction but the city government hopes it would be as soon as possible.
With the state-of-the-art AAA slaughterhouse, Treñas expects the meat to be of higher quality.
He added that the target capacity of the said slaughterhouse is approximately 1,000 pigs but the city government was initially aiming for at least 500 to 600 pigs.
To recall, 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 Department of Agriculture 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
