MANDAUE EYES PRIVATIZATION OF ABATTOIR

Vice mayor says lack of competent personnel and equipment affected the operations of the facility.

The Mandaue City Council may decide to withdraw or amend the proposed ordinance that intends to close the city slaughterhouse, Vice Mayor Carlo Fortuna said.

He said the intention of the ordinance was supposedly to stop the operation of the abattoir and not to close it.

“We may have to withdraw the ordinance or amend it. The intent is not to close it but for the City Government to cease from operating it and open it to a private partner to operate it,” Fortuna said.

A proposed ordinance closing the abattoir in Barangay Labogon was filed by Councilor Carmelino Del Mar Jr. during the City Council’s regular session last week.

The move came after a study showed that the slaughterhouse was not generating income. The Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) 7 also saw some violations in its operations.

Earlier, Del Mar said the abattoir has not been earning probably because of the presence of privately owned slaughterhouses, which are more accessible and have better facilities.

Fortuna explained that the facility’s income may have dropped also due to the non-operation of the equipment that would have mechanized the slaughterhouse’s operations.

“We are back to manual. This has significantly affected the revenues. The delay in the procurement process as well as the lack of a very qualified and competent personnel to run the facility has affected its operations,” he said.

In a report, DENR 7 noted that the slaughterhouse has no wastewater treatment facility.

The slaughterhouse management also failed to submit its quarterly self-monitoring reports and renew its discharge permit. /