DUE to Task Force Botagoy’s inactivity, the production of the AVM-Bernardo slaughterhouse in Barangay Handumanan, Bacolod City this month has decreased by 10 percent.

Plant manager Glorydee Cometa said on Sunday, September 23, they received several complaints about illegal slaughtering in various barangays which affected their operation.

She said aside from illegal slaughtering, they were also affected by the tax reform law.

“With the new [appointed] head of Task Force Botagoy, we are hopeful to address the illegal slaughtering and to ensure the health safety of the consumers,” she added.

In the previous months, they received not less than 300 heads of animals, but now it decreased by 10 percent, she noted.

Mayor Evelio Leonardia earlier designated Martin Tinaga as the new head of Task Force Botagoy following the retirement of Rex Juplo.

Tinaga received a memorandum from Leonardia in June, but he only assumed his post in July after the completion of his training at the National Meat Inspection Service in Iloilo City.

Tinaga also vowed to continue their monitoring against the illegal slaughtering in the various public markets to penalize the erring vendors.

The City Council had approved a resolution requesting Mayor Evelio Leonardia to reconstitute and reorganize the Task Force Botagoy to ensure that City Ordinance No. 459 is effectively and efficiently implemented.

City Ordinance No. 459, series of 2008 established the guidelines and policies in the apprehension and confiscation of illegally slaughtered animals, including slaughtering paraphernalia, in the City of Bacolod and creating a Task Force Botagoy for its implementation and providing penalties.