Meat and poultry products should be made to undergo inspection to make sure that these are safe for consumption. | CDN file photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu City Councilor Philip Zafra is asking the Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF) to help hog and poultry raisers who are in the city’s mountain barangays find a legitimate slaughterhouse that is close to where they are.
Zafra, chairperson of the City Council’s agriculture committee, said this will address concerns on the backyard slaughter of pigs and poultry that has been proven to be unsanitary and unsafe.
He issued his appeal after DVMF reported that most of the hot meat that were confiscated in the city were traced to have come from hog and poultry raisers who are in the city’s mountain barangays.
To date, the only slaughterhouse that is located in the city’s mountains and is certified by the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) is the one in Barangay Guba in the north district.
Growers who are in the south district mountain barangays do not have a nearby slaughter house.
Zafra said this is the reason why many of the growers would slaughter pigs on their own.
Just recently, the city government confiscated lechon (roasted pig) from a vendor because of the absence of necessary permits.
Zafra said that hogs that are slaughtered outside of designated slaughterhouses did not undergo sanitary inspection, thus these are unsafe for consumption.
He said it is a mandate of the city government to always protect public health.
And instead of just going after the hot meat, Zafra said the DVMF should also find means to help hog and poultry growers address their need for a letigimate slaughterhouse.
Continuous crackdowns, he said, would only result to loss of income for growers who are already severely affected by the pandemic.
“Ako na tong gisultihan ang City Agriculture Department (CAD) nga we will sit down with DVMF ug unsa atong mabuhat ani. Instead nga ato silag dakupon or what, ato silang i-assist,” said Zafra.
(I already talked to our City Agriculture Department on the need to sit down with DVMF and discuss how we will be able to address this concern. Instead of arresting the violators, we have to also assist them.)
Zafra said the local pork industry play an important role in case of a shortage in supply, thus there is a need for the city government to help the hog and poultry growers.
He said that CAD has also been instructed to help identify an ideal location and a possible investor for the establishment of a slaughter house especially in the south district. And the DVMF should be prepared to assist said investor in securing the necessary permits.
“Mas maayo gyod nga dili lang ta igo ra moinspect, ato gyong tabangan nga makakuha silag permit,” he said.
(It is not enough for the city to just inspect, we should also help them secure permits.)
He said that a slaughterhouse was already established in Bonbon but its operation was stop because of the operator’s failure to secure government permits.
In the coming days, Zafra said that he will also be meeting with hog raisers in the city to also listen to their other concerns and help them find ways to address these concerns. / dcb