Mandaue City slaughterhouse upgrade sought

CEBU, Philippines — The Mandaue City government has begun coordinating with the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) for the planned redevelopment of the city slaughterhouse in Barangay Labogon, a project aimed at improving meat processing and inspection services.

Mayor Thadeo Jovito Ouano met with officials of the NMIS Regional Technical Operations Center (RTOC) VII on July 30 to discuss the proposed redevelopment of the facility and ensure that it complies with national meat inspection standards.

In an interview yesterday, August 3, Ouano said he discussed with NMIS Officer-in-Charge and Executive Director for Central Visayas Fernando Lontoc the challenges facing the slaughterhouse and the plans for its upgrade.

“Ganahan siya ipa-upgrade, which kita sad ganahan sad nato ipa-upgrade,” he said.

The mayor said the slaughterhouse previously held a Double A accreditation. The city’s current goal is to restore it to at least a Single A accreditation.

Once rehabilitated, the facility is expected to achieve Single A accreditation, which would allow it to distribute meat within the city.

However, Ouano said the city still needs to purchase additional equipment. He added that one of the major challenges is the location of the slaughterhouse.

“Ang dan padung sa slaughterhouse kay bati gyud kaayo,” he said, adding that the city cannot intervene because the road is on privately owned property.

The facility reached its current deteriorated state after sustaining damage from typhoons and years of neglect.

Ouano also said the city had offered the slaughterhouse as a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) project, but no investors have expressed interest so far.

With this, the city government is planning to proceed with upgrading the slaughterhouse on its own, initially targeting only a Single A accreditation.

“For Single A lang na category and tabangan ta sa NMIS since naa man sad silay daghang suggestions and proposals nga pwede nato ma-implement sa slaughterhouse,” Ouano said.

According to the city, the planned upgrade seeks to improve slaughtering operations and meat inspection procedures to ensure safer and higher-quality meat products for consumers while also benefiting local lechon makers and hog raisers.

The meeting was held at the NMIS-RTOC VII office in Barangay Maguikay.

City Veterinarian Dr. Karen Merilles joined the discussions as the city government and NMIS continued coordinating on the inspection of the existing slaughterhouse and the measures needed for its redevelopment.

Also present during the meeting were NMIS Regional Technical Director Dr. Alvin Leal and Mandaue City Administrator Atty. Sally Malig-on Jr. — (FREEMAN)