One of the most modern slaughterhouses in the Bicol region was inaugurated last week by Virac Mayor Samuel V. Laynes and top officials of the Department of Agriculture who said it would not only benefit butchers, meat vendors and processors but most of all the consuming public.
Built to Class “AA” standards of the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS), the P45-million abattoir was constructed with a grant provided under the Philippine Rural Development Project (PRDP), with the municipal government adding its equity and the lot at barangay Bigaa.
Rev. Fr. Joey Aguilar led the blessing of the facility in the presence of Mayor Laynes, DA Regional Executive Director Rodel P. Tornilla, OIC-Regional Technical Director for Operations Mary Grace P. Rodriguez, NMIS Regional Director Alex Templonuevo, PRDP Project Support Office component head Engr. Allan Tatierra, PRDP RPCO 5 deputy project director Engr. Teodoro Eleda; Councilors Virgilio Candelaria, Lemuel Surtida and Xyrell Albaniel; and LGU department heads and employees.
In expressing gratitude to DA and PRDP for the sizeable investment in the capital town, Laynes said the project was realized through their guidance and technical expertise under the financial partnership of DA and the World Bank.
The mayor said the facility represents his administration’s commitment to enhancing the livelihood of livestock raisers, butchers, meat vendors and processors by expanding the industry’s market opportunities.
Stressing that the health of the public cannot be compromised, Laynes added that the new slaughterhouse would not only ensure clean and wholesome meat but also help strengthen the value chain of agricultural products.
In his message, Engr. Eleda disclosed that the DA prioritized Virac for the “AA” slaughterhouse and it took about three years for the proposal to be approved due to the voluminous documents required by PRDP.
He said PRDP will monitor the sustainability plan submitted by the LGU to check if it is being followed as failure to do so would force the Project to convert the grant into a loan to be paid back by the LGU.
On the other hand, Dir. Templonuevo said the new facility is a realization of NMIS’ commitment to promote agricultural and rural development as an investment in the health and wellness of the people of Virac.
He stated that the slaughterhouse would help mitigate the spread of animal disease like African Swine Fever, protect the local pork industry from future outbreaks, ensure stability in meat supply and boost consumer confidence.
He urged the LGU and its workers to take great care in managing and maintaining the facility by upholding the highest standards.
The same views were expressed by Engr. Tatierra, who said the abattoir would support the local economy and create opportunities for all.
The Virac facility is the third of the 13 approved for construction under PRDP last year, following similar slaughterhouses in Buhi and Ragay, both in Camarines Sur, RED Tornilla bared.
“The inauguration of this facility is good news in the face of efforts to combat ASF,” he added, noting that the capital town continues to be a Red Zone due to the ASF infection.
The facility consists of the main building with a floor area of 254 square meters, a holding pen with a total area of 112 square meters and capable of accommodating 91 heads of swine and 10 heads of cattle overnight, elevated water tank, powerhouse, pump house, and guard house.
It also has a mechanized sewage treatment facility constructed earlier by the Department of Public Works and Highways to mitigate the impact of waste disposal in compliance with environmental impact assessment and regulations.
From the holding pen, the swine will go up a ramp to the stunning area, sticking and bleeding area before it would be dipped into the scalding vat prior to dehairing and evisceration. There are also separate offal cleaning rooms for both types of livestock.
Except for the flaying or removal of the hide from the carcass, the cattle follow a similar procedure except that after evisceration, the carcass is split or quartered prior to washing.
The carcass will hang on metal rails during the entire process and would be weighed in front of the meat inspector’s office prior to being dispatched after payment of fees.
To ensure biosecurity, the facility has two separate gates: one for incoming livestock, with the vehicles passing through a chemically treated wash, and the other for the loading and dispatching of meat.
But even if inaugurated already, the Virac slaughterhouse needs to secure accreditation from NMIS prior to actual operation.
The LGU would have to hire at least 12 personnel to run the facility, with 10 of them butchers and the other two to handle meat inspection and administrative tasks.
The butchers would have to be trained at the Legazpi slaughterhouse on hygienic butchering, NMIS Bicol Director Templonuevo clarified, adding that the existing butchers could be hired by the LGU.
Once the Virac abattoir operates, it can handle 300 to 500 heads per day, far above its initial capacity of 60 to 100 per day as proposed.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as boots, leatherette aprons, helmets and knives, will be provided to the butchers.
On the other hand, the meat stalls at the public market will have to be tailored-fit to the food safety program to be implemented by the LGU to sustain NMIS standards.
Dir. Templonuevo explained that the sale of meat from a single “A” slaughterhouse is limited to the municipality only.
If the Virac facility is accredited as “AA”, it can accept hogs and cattle from other municipalities for slaughtering and sell the meat outside the province.
For now, he said, the meat from the Bigaa facility will be sold in Virac only pending evaluation by NMIS.
To make the slaughterhouse sustainable, he stated that a certain percentage of the accrued collection should be allocated to a trust fund for abattoir development on a cyclical basis so there would be no need for the LGU to add funds.
In Legazpi City, a fee of P5 per head is set aside for such a purpose, the NMIS official disclosed.
With regards to the ongoing ASF outbreak, Templonuevo said meat inspectors should determine if the hogs have the disease upon entry to the facility based on physical symptoms such as reddish spots in the body and the lymph nodes.
On the other hand, if ASF is detected at the slaughterhouse itself, it will have to be quarantined for seven days and disinfected.
He likewise advised the LGU to crack down on slaughtering of animals outside the slaughterhouse as the facility would be “useless” if the practice continues as it spreads the ASF virus.
A municipal ordinance should create the Task Force Bantay Karne to monitor illegal slaughtering in the barangays, with warnings to be issued prior to actual confiscation of the meat.