CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Vice Mayor Michael “Mike” Rama wants the lechon industry to be regulated in the city following reports of the bad practices of lechon vendors in Carcar City.
He said it was alarming that the famous lechon industry of Cebu has to face a controversy of vendors selling stale lechon or vendors forcing customers to buy their lechon (roasted pig).
Rama said he would like to meet with lechon establishments as the chairperson of the City Council committee on health and discuss with them the current health standards of lechon making.
On November 5, 2019, the Carcar City government convened their lechon vendors amid complaints of abusive vendors who prevented customers from reaching other stores, or forcing the customers to buy already packed old stock lechon.
Read: Carcar City government to look into complaints on abusive lechon vendors
Rama said while there has no similar complaint in Cebu City and the different circumstances between the lechon distribution practices in the two cities, Rama said it is still important to be updated on the real situation in the market and align the legislative measures to protect a million-peso industry.
“We will meet our lechon makers as soon as possible to discuss the problems they face and what they need to ensure we will not have similar incidents as that in Carcar City,” said Rama in a phone interview on Thursday, November 7, 2019.
He also said he also wants to know the real situation of lechon makers with the ban of pork from Luzon because of the African Swine Fever (ASF) and if the city’s lechon industry has been affected by this.
Rama expects a rise in the orders for lechon since Christmas is fast approaching, and he wants to know if the ban is causing significant economic loses to this industry.
Mayor Edgardo Labella, for his part, said he will keep the ban of porks coming in from Luzon because any leniency accorded to the importation of pork from Luzon, might result to the entry of ASF.
The mayor said the Cebu City residents will have “grit their teeth” for some time and accept that there is less pork products in the market in order to protect the public’s health and the P2-billion hog industry of Cebu.
“We already signed an executive order for the pork ban from the entire Luzon. The ban stays,” said Labella.
Labella said he is not worried about the bad practices of lechon vendors in Carcar City and assured the public that competition is healthy among the lechon houses in Cebu City./elb