ILOILO City – The Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) is set to conduct a legislative inquiry on the state of the city’s slaughterhouse and public markets.
Councilor Armand Parcon pushed for the investigation in a privilege speech entitled “A deeper look at the sorry state of Iloilo City Public Markets and City Abattoir.”
He believed the slaughterhouse was mismanaged and manned by incompetent personnel.
Many equipment were not serviceable anymore, he lamented.
“Other slaughterhouse personnel were working without job orders. Sige duty para makalibre tinae kag kasudlan. Many personnel indi kasarang kag mano-mano ang pag-obra,” said Parcon.
The city government’s Local Economic Enterprise Office (LEEO) oversees the operation of the public markets and the slaughterhouse in Barangay Tacas, Jaro district.
“The slaughtering is delayed. Sang una 12 midnight tapos na. Kon delay ang ihaw, delay man ang delivery,” said Parcon.
The slaughterhouse also has no classification under the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS), he added.
Parcon said the proliferation of “hot meat” could be traced to the poor operation of the slaughterhouse.
“Meat suppliers would have around five hogs or cattle slaughtered at the city’s abattoir just so they could have them officially marked as safe. They forward the rest of their hogs and cattle for slaughtering in backyards. Ang resulta hot meat ukon botcha,” he said.
Parcon said he also heard that some slaughtering were done by the river around a kilometer away from the slaughterhouse.
Because of the slaughterhouse’s poor operation, Parcon said, the city government is losing millions in revenues.
On the other hand, Parcon said, the city’s public markets were also neglected. He pointed to, among others, the leaking roofs and poor drainage of the Iloilo Terminal Market.
Councilor Plaridel Nava said political will is needed to address these concerns.
“Nothing appeared to have changed in our public markets since 2010,” he lamented. “What we need is an iron hand…Damu man sang dongol sa sulod sang public markets.”
Nava said the private-public partnership arrangement to improve the public markets proposed during the administration of then mayor Jed Pat rick Mabilog could have been “the best solution.”
“Ti damo man reklamo. Damo rally,” said Nava./PN
