QC to create task force vs ‘hot meat’ vendors

The Quezon City government is now finalizing plans to create a task force that would go after "hot meat" vendors and operators of illegal slaughterhouses to rid the city of unsafe meats.

The plan cropped up after a meeting called by the city Market Development and Administration Department (MDAD), with officials from the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS), Department of Public Order and Security (DPOS), Environmental Protection and Waste Management Department (EPWMD), City Health Department, City Legal Office and the Quezon City Police District-City Hall Detachment.

It was reported that at least 3,000 kilos of hot meat are being peddled daily in Quezon City, particularly in the Balintawak area.

Reports showed that to date, a total of 12 tons of hot meat have been seized by police operatives and personnel from the city Veterinary Office in several operations in the city from January to August this year.

Mayor Feliciano Belmonte Jr. has designated the Market Development and Administration Department as the task force’s lead agency, with Neil Lina as its chairman.

Lina, MDAD head, cited the need for the creation of a task force that will run after unscrupulous individuals selling hot meat and operating illegal slaughterhouses, in violation of city ordinances and laws banning the sale and illegal slaughtering of animals.

Belmonte had earlier instructed Lina "to do something about the hot meat and illegal slaughtering problem in the city."

The mayor noted the great danger the illegal practice poses to the health of city residents, like food poisoning, diarrhea and other intestinal diseases.

Lina said a composite team is necessary to be able to immediately put to a stop the vending of hot meat and illegal slaughtering in the city. He stressed the need for all government agencies to join hands in the campaign to ensure immediate results.

The MDAD head said that while the city government is encouraging backyard livestock or poultry raising as a means of livelihood, it should not be contrary to existing ordinances or laws on slaughtering, transporting and selling them.

Lina said the operation of the task force, once created, shall also include inspections in restaurants for possible stocks of hot meat.

Dr. Rolando Marquez Sr., Dr. Fernando Lontoc, both from NMIS, and Dr. Anna Marie Cabel, officer-in-charge of the Veterinary Office, and officer-in-charge of the city health department Dr. Antonieta Inumerable, urged the city government for the permanent closure of the Tambunting area, a portion of Balintawak market, where hot meat is allegedly sold.

They said this was the only way to eliminate the proliferation of hot meat in the Balintawak area.