Saturday, October 13, 2007 Mandaue to run after contractor of abattoir over missing gadgets
THE Mandaue City Government is training its eyes on AVM Bernardo Engineering, which reportedly has the City’s missing slaughterhouse equipment worth millions.
“I have already referred the matter to the city legal officer for appropriate legal action,” Mayor Jonas Cortes told Sun.Star Cebu yesterday.
City Legal Officer Omar Redula last Thursday said he would get a hold of the pertinent documents from City Veterinarian Daisy Penetrante and issue a demand letter to AVM Bernardo. Only then would he plan his next move.
Penetrante, in her report to the City Council last Wednesday, said the split saw, brisket saw, quartering saw, dehiding equipment, hoof-splitting saw, 44 pieces of gambrel and 100 crates have disappeared.
She said a quartering saw alone costs more than P400,000 each.
Operations
She urged the City to replace these as soon as possible so the plant can resume operations.
She also mentioned in her report the 11 non-operational equipment and facilities inside the slaughterhouse.
Penetrante briefed councilors about the state of the city slaughterhouse. She told them they were conducting an inventory on all equipment.
Upon the request of the City, the FNC Food and Beverages Machinery Technology and Services, a private firm, evaluated the plant’s condition.
It said the City needs to spend P14 million for major repair and acquisition of vital equipment, to put the plant back in operation.
Rehabilitation
The City is in the process of releasing the amount to rehabilitate the plant and run after those responsible for the missing equipment.
Penetrante said she has the 2002 documents signed by Jojo Dinsay, AVM Bernardo representative, that contain the list of equipment received by the firm.
Then in December 2005, she submitted a report to acting city legal officer Erwin Rommel Heyrosa about the seven missing equipment. But the issue died down.
When Mayor Cortes assumed power, he created the Technical Working Group (TWG) to check on the City’s unfinished projects.
The TWG made two recommendations on the slaughterhouse: to rehabilitate it and to look for the missing equipment, which eventually points to AVM Bernardo.
Operations
City’s information officer Hedelito Pascual said AVM Bernardo was also contracted by major cities—Tacloban in Leyte, Bacolod in Negros Occidental and Talisay— to run their slaughterhouses.
Like Mandaue, Talisay also encountered problems of deficient equipment in their slaughterhouse.
Sun.Star called up Dinsay, but he could not be reached.
AVM Bernardo Engineering built and operated the Mandaue abattoir through a 15-year lease that started in 2001. (OCP)
