Mandaue: Close Cebu City abattoir

CEBU, Philippines - The Mandaue City Treasurer’s Office has recommended the closure of the Cebu City Modern Abattoir located in Barangay Subangdaku in Mandaue after it failed to comply with operational requires, including a business tax and other permits.

Mandaue Treasurer Atty. Regal Oliva recommended the closure last Thursday.

Oliva said the Cebu City Modern Abbatoir and other establishments are recommended for closure “for failing to comply, after repeated demands to settle their business tax and other fees and/or secure the necessary permits” from Mandaue City.

“Gahi lang gyud sila’g ulo (kay dili mo-comply sa necessary permits),” Oliva said.

Oliva believes Rama has given marching orders on the matter particularly the “payment of fees or the presentation of documents that will prove Cebu City’s exemption” but something might have gone wrong along the way.

“I talked with the Mayor (Michael Rama). The mayor is willing to settle with everything that we need to settle. I think it’s his soldiers. There is something wrong with the people working around the mayor of Cebu City,” Oliva added, pointing out the coordination meeting the two cities had in November last year.

“They said that they will come, and then they will settle. Human mao ra’g mag-one year na man,” Oliva said.

Despite the recom-mended closure, Oliva said Mandaue would still wait for the documents that would prove Cebu City is exempted from paying taxes.

At Cebu City, Rama said he has already asked Cebu City Treasurer Diwa Cuevas and City Legal Office to take care of the issue.

“It has to be a treasure to treasurer matter so Diwa has to be on top of it. I know Regal Oliva is a reasonable treasurer,” Rama said.

Cuevas, for her part, said she and City Administrator Lucelle Mercado will talk with Oliva in Mandaue City on Monday. She pointed out, though, that they actually waited for Oliva to visit Cebu City Hall.

“The last time mi nag-storya ni Atty. Regal, at the end sa among conversation, niana siya ‘I will just visit you sa inyong office’ so that’s why nipaabot lang pud mi. Ingon man siya mo-visit siya,” Cuevas said.

“Wala pa mi kahibaw pila ang bayranan. Kay di man sila maka-determine pa unless we give them the data sa income diha. Maybe naa na silay idea pero amo baya na i-protesta,” she said. —  Jave A. Matugas and Jean Marvette A. Demecillo/JMO (FREEMAN)