BACOLOD City – The city government has demanded that AVM Bernardo Slaughterhouse in Barangay Handumanan settle its unpaid rental obligations amounting to P4.6 million.
In a demand letter signed by Mayor Greg Gasataya on Sept ember 4, the city ordered the private abattoir to pay its outstanding arrears covering 36 months of unpaid rent from January 2022 to January 2025.
“We just want to be fair with all business establishments in the city,” Gasataya said, stressing that the demand is not just a warning but a call for compliance. “We have necessary and appropriate measures if they fail to comply.”
The slaughterhouse’s current monthly rental is P129,883.05.
Earlier, the City Council initiated a fact-finding probe into complaints against the slaughterhouse over its services, facility upgrades, and rental delinquencies.
AVM Bernardo Engineering Services has been operating the city-owned abattoir since 2008 under a build-operate-transfer (BOT) agreement signed in 2007. The deal grants the firm a 20-year operation period, with the city set to take over in 2028.
In an interview on September 5, Edwin Consigna, day-shift supervisor of AVM Bernardo, admitted the slaughterhouse has been incurring losses since the COVID-19 pandemic. He added that the African Swine Fever (ASF) outbreak worsened their situation as fewer animals were brought in for slaughter.
Consigna further explained that the facility collects only P3 per kilo in regulatory fees for slaughtered animals, unlike other abattoirs that can adjust fees more freely.
“We cannot impose an increase without the approval of the city government,” he said./PN
