Cebu City eyes slaughterhouse closure

Left with several concerns including millions in unpaid real property taxes, the Cebu City government is now looking at the possibility of closing the city slaughterhouse located in Barangay Subangdaku in Mandaue City.

An option is to turn this over to a private entity or the Mandaue City government.

Cebu City Veterinarian Alice Utlang said that if the slaughterhouse is privately operated, the city and its private partner can share in the payment of its tax dues to Mandaue.

The Mandaue City government have been asking Cebu City to already pay real property taxes amounting to at least P2.9 million.

Utlang said they are now in consultation with Mayor Tomas Osmeña on how to best address the city’s slaughterhouse concerns.

¨If Mayor Osmeña decides on its closure, we already formulated a contingency plan for it. We will transfer the butchers to other slaughterhouses owned by the city government. And we will make sure these slaughterhouses are accredited and have complied the necessary requirements to function and open for business,¨ she said.

Utlang said they are also looking into a proposal by Councilor Alvin Arcilla which is to allow a private entity to run slaughterhouse operations and share revenues with the city.

¨There are two very important problems coming from it (slaughterhouse operations), and we need to solve them. The first is the issue on tax. It was reported that taxes were not paid. The second one is the issue on the waste it disposes. We must avoid any harmful circumstances towards its surroundings, and Mandaue City,¨ said de facto city administrator Francisco Fernandez.

But Fernandez is confident that the cities of Cebu and Mandaue will be able to reach a solution that is favorable to the two Local Government Units because of the friendship that they share./UP Cebu Morexette Erram