Several members of the Asosasyon sang mga Trabahador sg Slaughterhouse walked out of the public hearing conducted by the Committee on Markets and Slaughterhouse yesterday morning at City Hall.

AMTS spokesperson Conrado Galendez yesterday said they were expecting to meet with the mayor during the public hearing, although his name was not included in the invitation they received. They walked out of the Session Hall because they expected their concerns addressed, he said.

Present at the public hearing were Councilor Alex Paglumotan, chairman of the Committee on Markets and Slaughterhouse, Legal Officer 3 Vicente Petierre III, Executive Assistant Ernie Pineda and engineer Antonio Bernardo, contractor of the new slaughterhouse in Brgy. Handumanan.

Galendez said they have not been informed that the new slaughterhouse in Brgy. Handumanan will be operated by a private entity and thought it will still be run by the government.

They are opposing the transfer of the existing slaughterhouse in Brgy. 35 since they will lose their livelihood, he said. They will file a case against the city if the operation of the new slaughterhouse pushes through, he added.

Galendez claimed that the Barangay 35 officials were not informed about the privatization of the new slaughterhouse.

Paglumotan said the public consultation yesterday will be reset next week so he could try to invite the mayor to be present.

He clarified that when he came back to City Hall, the memorandum of agreement entered into between the city and AVM Bernardo Engineering for the operation of the new slaughterhouse in Handumanan had already been ratified by the previous Sangguniang Panlungsod and could not be revoked.

During their previous public hearing, he asked the complainants to submit the list of their private employers so he could meet with them and address their concerns, Paglumotan said. However, they never complied, he said.

Paglumotan said the city will try to look for ways to help the workers in the existing slaughterhouse who will be displaced. He will meet with the mayor on the matter, he said.

As a highly-urbanized city, Bacolod needs a new slaughterhouse because they want to protect the people, especially the consuming public, he said.

Meanwhile, Antonio Bernardo said the new slaughterhouse ahs been ready to operate since last month yet. However, they are reproducing all the required documents such as Environmental Compliance Certificate and building permit which were supposed to have been available at the start of the construction of the building in 2001.

Bernardo said the old slaughterhouse could not meet the standards required by law.  If the complainants insist on operating the old slaughterhouse, it has to satisfy four government agencies which are the National Meat Inspection Service of the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Health, the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, and the local government, he said.

If a slaughterhouse fails to satisfy any of these agencies, it could not be accredited, Bernardo said. If a slaughterhouse is not accredited, all meat coming from it will be considered “hot meat,” he also said.

Bernardo said that when his company accepted the project, it immediately addressed the problem of the butchers at the existing slaughterhouse. He told those who want to be hired in the new slaughterhouse to submit their applications in Brgy. Handumanan, he said, although he is not giving assurance that everyone will be hired.

He suggested that those who will not be hired form a cooperative, Bernardo said. If they have a better proposal or could come up with a better way to operate the existing slaughterhouse, they should present their proposal, he said.*CGS

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