The Cebu City abattoir or slaughterhouse will soon be closed and replaced with a sewage treatment facility. (CDN FILE)
Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña is planning to close the city-owned slaughterhouse in Barangay Subangdaku, Mandaue City and build a sewage treatment plant there instead.
Osmeña said this would be another way to streamline the city government’s finances.
“Because I think the private sector is doing a good job, why do we have to compete with the private sector? We have to spend millions to have an updated standards on ihawan (slaughterhouse). The government should only come in if the private sector does not feel any certainty on a task,” Osmeña said.
He said if the slaughterhouse operations would cease for good, then he would consider building a new sewage treatment plant there.
He, however, said that he was still holding talks with Mandaue City Mayor Luigi Quisumbing on the details of the possible slaughterhouse closure and the possible start of the construction work for the sewage treatment plant.
“I am asking permission that we will be allowed to use the site and put our sewage treatment plant there. So our existing sewage treatment plant will be commercialized to Block 27 and will be part of the compensation to the province,” said Osmeña.
Osmeña was referring to the sewage treatment plant at the North Reclamation Area which was built in 2014, which was a Japan International Cooperation Agency project.
The sewage treatment plant there was turned over to the city last 2015.
Osmeña also said that both the Mandaue and Cebu City governments agreed about removing the foul smell of the waste from the slaughterhouse.
Osmeña also said that the Cebu City government would pay the slaughterhouse’s real property taxes of P2.9 million, which the Mandaue City government had been trying to collect from the Cebu City government in the previous year.
“We will pay whatever we owe them — we will pay. I don’t know how much are they asking, but whatever . . . we’re going to pay it. We’re not going to shy away from that,” said Osmeña.
In October 2015, Mandaue City Treasurer Regal Oliva warned the Cebu City government in a letter that it might close the slaughterhouse because the Cebu City government had not paid taxes to Mandaue City government since it started operations in 1999.
Oliva also said in that letter to the previous Cebu City administration that it had failed to present a business permit and documents to substantiate its claim of being exempted from paying real property taxes./UP Cebu Intern Morexette Marie Erram
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