Bacolod Mayor Evelio Leonardia yesterday said he is open to a dialog with the members of the Asosasyon sg Mga Trabahabor sa Slaughterhouse on the premise that the slaughterhouse project is already a done deal since there is already an existing contract.

“We cannot turn our back on the contract unless they can give us a valid reason,” he said.

Leonardia said he was not informed about the public consultation last week conducted by the Committee on Markets and Slaughterhouse where members of the AMTS wanted to meet with him. He said he is amazed that the AMTS members from Brgy. 35 are saying that they were not aware that the slaughterhouse will be privatized.

Several public hearings on the matter had been conducted in the past, he said, and some people are already questioning their motives.

Executive Assistant Ernesto Pineda said the AMTS only formed themselves after the memorandum of agreement between the city and AVM Bernardo for the operation of the new slaughterhouse in Brgy. Handumanan was signed last year. The members are private employees of meat vendors, he said. 

Leonardia said the facility was constructed in 1999 by former Bacolod Rep. John Orola with the intention that it would be privatized later on.

“The administration before us even had it through a public bidding and when we came in 2004 we pursued it the same direction,” he said.

The contractor is investing P54 million on the project which will be profitable for the city, rather than to have the city again use money from its resources that might offset its other budgeting requirements, Leonardia said.

The city is spending about 7 million a year in operating the old slaughterhouse and only earn about P1 million, he said.

If privatized, the city will not spend 7 million and instead, the contractor will pay the city regulatory fees estimated at P3 million, Leonardia said.

“In effect, we will have fresh funds of P10 million which can even be used for other projects,” he said. “The city will monitor the operation of the facility and will rescind the contract if there are violations committed by the contractor,” he added.

Brenda Burdeos, vice chairperson of the city livelihood and cooperative office, said they have gathered data and information from those who will be displaced by the privatization of the slaughterhouse to determine who will need skills training.

The Technical Education and Skills Development Authority is offering slaughtering scholarships since the skill is in demand abroad, she said. If they are no longer qualified since they are overage, the city will coordinate with TESDA to help their children avail of the program, she added.

Orola, the City Tourism Council chairman, said the TESDA is also asking him to help put up a program for slaughtering since there is a demand for butchers or slaughterhouse operators abroad.

He suggested that the old slaughterhouse in Brgy. 35 be converted into a training center. He had discussed the matter with Executive Assistant Moises de la Cruz and they will present the final program to the mayor, he said.

The butchers in Brgy. 35 should be given training since there is a big demand abroad, Orola said.

He said the VMA Training Center, which is accredited by TESDA to provide skills training, will also be training 1,000 waiters, waitresses, bartenders and housekeepers since there is high demand for skilled workers in Dubai, Singapore and the Caribbean.*CGS  

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