Stiffer penalties sought for sale of 'double dead' meat

MANILA, Philippines – A party-list lawmaker yesterday called for a stiffer penalty against the sale and distribution of “double dead” meat, locally known as “botya.”

AGAP party-list Rep. Nicanor Briones filed House Bill 687 seeking to declare the sale or distribution of “botya” a criminal offense punishable with a jail term of 12 years and a fine of not more than P200,000.

Briones sought to amend the provisions of the Meat Inspection Code of the Philippines banning the sale and distribution of “hot meat” for public health safety.

Briones noted the law has failed to control the sale and distribution of hot meat, pointing out the widespread unmitigated trade of meat and meat products from dead or diseased animals pose a serious health hazard to consumers.

“The simple transport of hot meat contributes largely to the spread of deadly diseases – such as foot-and-mouth disease, hog cholera, avian influenza or bird flu – that have the capability of wiping out the entire livestock and poultry population,” Briones said.

“This could result in huge financial losses to farmers and deprive farm workers of their source of livelihood,” he said.

He said the law has failed to control the proliferation of hot meat because the penalties being imposed “are just paltry fines and simply confiscation of the intercepted goods.”

Briones said that in most cases, proceeds from successful attempts of smuggling hot meats were more than enough to cover the fines or penalties that should be imposed against the violators.

Briones said the responsibility in the proliferation and selling of hot meat should go beyond the vendor.

Briones proposed the stiffer penalties should be imposed against officials of a corporation, firm, partnership or association behind the sale of the hot meat.

If the guilty officer is a foreigner, Briones proposed that he or she should be immediately deported after serving sentence.

The bill imposes a six month to 12-year prison term and a fine ranging from P50,000 to P200,000, or both to any person found guilty of falsifying, forging, altering, defacing, or destroying any document, pass, certificate, tag or any other paper.