The contractor of the Bacolod City Slaughterhouse in Brgy. Handumanan, Bacolod City will conduct a dry run of its hog section by the end of the month.

AVM Bernardo Engineering project supervisor, Jerald Michael de Mesa, yesterday said the equipment arrived only two weeks ago and has been installed in the slaughterhouse by almost 50 percent. He said the equipment for the cattle section area is still expected to arrive, as well as a container van.

De Mesa said the rehabilitation of the building is about 70 percent complete and they will also finish the construction of the perimeter fence. He said Antonio Bernardo, who heads AVM Bernardo, is still in Singapore but will be present during the dry run to evaluate when the facility could start operating.

There is no target date when the facility will start operation since they have no instruction yet regarding the matter, De Mesa said. The facility can handle 800 heads a day and operations will start at 8 p.m. and end 4 a.m. he said.

De Mesa said the operation of the slaughterhouse will ensure a faster and more hygienic services.

Mayor Evelio Leonardia said they were informed that after the contractor has conducted a dry run, normally it will be just a matter of weeks to start the operation of the facility.

“I think this is a thousand times better than the situation in the old facility,” Leonardia said. This is really a step forward for the city in terms of hygiene and more animals can be slaughtered in a day, compared to the old slaughterhouse,” he added.

Leonardia said the structure was constructed in 1999 and it is high time that it becomes functional. He said he is glad that the Sangguniang Panlungsod, led by Vice Mayor Jude Thaddeus Sayson, has been very supportive of this. He also thanked Councilor Napoleon Cordova and City Administrator Roger Balo who went into the nitty-gritty of the project, he said.

Leonardia said he has asked the SP to study the possibility of retaining the old slaughterhouse for poultry services. Because of the conditional nature of the contract, as much as possible they want to retain the old facility, just like the present City Hall which they want to retain to protect the interest of the city, he said.

He has referred the contract between the city and AVM Bernardo to the City Legal office for study, Leonardia said. But than anything else, he said, he is concerned with having the project started and operated to serve the people.

Leonardia said that if the other party fails to comply with its obligations they will pursue them but his primary consideration is to see to it that they start to operate.

He said the city is spending P6million-P7 million annually for the operation of the old slaughterhouse, while in the new one, the contractor will pay the city for the rent, aside from the regulatory fees which they estimate at about P3 million in the beginning years of operation. The contractor will turn over the facility to the city after 20 years, he added.

Councilor Alex Paglumotan said he will ask the Mayor for help so that the old slaughterhouse will not revert to the donor. Then they will plan for use of the area as a training center, he said. The Veterinary Office and the city pound will continue to be housed in the old facility, he added.

Meanwhile, Handumanan Brgy. Captain Ricardo Danoy said the existence of the new slaughterhouse will help provide income to the barangay since there are no other businesses in the area. He said they will pass a barangay ordinance that will help them collect a certain fee for every slaughtered animal, he said.

Danoy said there are skilled workers in the barangay who have been hired for the rehabilitation of the facility. The contractor has also skilled workers that will train people to handle slaughtering jobs. He added that based on the contract, it appears that the contractor is complying with what is expected of them. While they are trying it retain the old slaughterhouse, he said he believes the city is now liberated from sustaining it.*CGS

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