THE Vendors from Toril who were caught selling fish laced with pork blood had been warned twice before the confiscation, an officer of Davao City Veterinarian's said.
Davao City Veterinarian's office Meat, Livestock, and Fish Inspection Division Head Dr. Clarita Tellano said Wednesday, that two of the erring vendors have business permits have undergone meat handling seminars.
“In our records mga vendors from Toril, naka-seminar sila ng meat handling in the years 2002 and 2005,” Tellano said.
She said that based on reports from Monalisa Roxas, Senior Aquaculturist in charge of fish inspection, the vendors from Toril had been warned last August 29 to stop what they are doing.
According to Roxas, after the warning 18 vendors had a dialogue with them last September 4, 2015, but during the inspection last September 11, as they returned to the area, the vendors still sold the same.
Tellano said that vendors whose fish were confiscated were Joan Regis and Purita Rule, both from Toril Public Market.
Rey Sigon from Matina Aplaya and Vincent Rose from Puan, were also caught without a business permit to show.
She said that the fish distributed by Rose, Rule, and Regis were imported but that there is nothing wrong with the fish itself.
The vendors were the ones painting these with pig’s blood.
She said that Toril vendors could not blame them for not giving awareness on proper meat handling as they conduct meat handling seminars to those who have business permits.
“Dili na jud sila makawala kay dili na na bag-o sa ilaha, mao na submissive sila kay kabalo man sila unsa ang ilang violations (They cannot escape this because they know what they should be doing. That is why they are submissive because they already know what violations they have committed),” Tellano said.
She said that those without business permits are not exempt from possible sanctions.
She also said that the owner of the 4.6 tons chicken was also given warning to secure accreditation of dressing plant last August 20 but still pushed the delivery through.
Tellano said that they can file charges against the owner of the van and the dressing plant; she added that they also thought of impounding the meat van but they did not.
Meanwhile Tellano said that they have already given the report to the City Administration’s Office, and it’s up to them and the City Legal office to decide if it would seem fit to file charges against the erring vendors.
rMeanwhile, Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte in a statement during a media interview held last Tuesday dawn, that erring vendors should be arrested as they lacked sensitivity in committing misinformation that could put non-pork eaters at disadvantage.