Slaughter fee hike pushed

Despite opposition from butchers and vendors, an increase in rates of slaughter fees and related charges has been proposed for enactment at the city council to help augment the city income starting next year.

The city's Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries wants City Tax Ordinance No. 38 amended to change the old rates that are no longer attuned to the needs of the current economic conditions.

City veterinarian Alice Utlang said the council should amend it now so that the new rates will be implemented by next year.

But in a public hearing last October 5, this proposal met stiff objections from butchers and vendors who said the new rates are exorbitant.

The DVMF proposal involves the adoption of a fee per animal slaughtered replacing the current method of a per-kilo computation of fees.

As such, the fee for every cattle slaughtered would be raised to P200 covering the charge per head, entrails fee, and regulatory service fee. The present fee for every slaughtered cattle, weighing 100 kilos, is P70.

The fee for slaughtering hogs would be raised from the present rate of P59.50 to P130, while for slaughter of goats the rate would be increased from the current P18 to P50.

The DVMF also proposed hiking related charges like holding, hauling and corral fees. - Mitchelle P. Calipayan