Unidentified men mulct money from meat dealers, butchers
It is not only thievery that bothers meat dealers having business at the new slaughterhouse in Brgy. Tacas, Jaro. It was learned yesterday that unidentified men also mulct money from the meat dealers going to the slaughterhouse very early in the morning.
Because of this Mayor Jerry Treñas ordered the deployment of a team from the Iloilo City Mobile Group (ICMG) to conduct patrol operations in the area going to the new abattoir.
Earlier, barangay officials of Tacas, Jaro expressed their intention to help in solving the problem by deploying their barangay tanods who are more familiar with the place.
Treñas said the presence of policemen in the area could help but he did not confirm directly the presence of unidentified men collecting money from businessmen going to the slaughterhouse. The electrical division of the City Engineers Office (CEO) just finished the installation of lamppost from the main road to the abattoir site.
The lack of illumination from the main road to the site and poor road are two of the concerns of the butchers since the transfer of the slaughterhouse from Molo to Jaro. At present, the new abattoir can accommodate 600 heads of pigs daily. There is no cattle line yet to accommodate cows and carabaos in the new abattoir.
Treñas said the Department of Public Works and Highways takes care of the road improvement from the main road up to the new slaughterhouse.
On reports of thievery inside the new slaughterhouse, Treñas said he was informed by City Veterinarian Dr. Tomas Forteza that all the hogs slaughtered inside the new abattoir are intact when disposed. The mayor discussed the problem to Forteza during yesterday's meeting with the city's department heads.
Treñas said Forteza suspects the thievery happens when the carcass is being transported from the slaughterhouse to the market of its destination. The slaughtered animals are brought to the market through a private vehicle. The city has no vans to deliver the meat products to various markets in the city.
Meat dealers complained that portion of the slaughtered pig specifically in its abdomen is already cut off when it reached the market. The internal organs of the pig is also missing. The same incident is repeatedly happening everyday and it already caused losses to the meat dealers.
The procurement of vans is included in the P11 million ACEF proposal of the city government which has yet to be approved. The P11 million fund also includes the installation of a cattle line. The cattle are still being slaughtered at the old slaughterhouse.
Apparently concerned of the negative impact of the alleged thievery in the abattoir's operation, the chief executive asked Dr. Forteza to allow all the market associations such as the Iloilo Terminal Market and Iloilo Central Market to have their own representatives at the new slaughterhouse.
The chief executive also ordered Forteza to make available all records regarding the operation of the new slaughterhouse. The records should be ready in case it is needed, he said.
TNT's effort to reach Forteza for further explanation over the alleged thievery inside the new slaughterhouse turned futile. Source said Forteza already knew of what is happening inside the slaughterhouse even before it reached the media.