Manila dad bucks takeover of Vitas slaughterhouse

Police officers had to bodily carry a city councilor out of the Vitas, Tondo slaughterhouse after he protested the Manila city government’s take­over of the facility.

It took at least four policemen to carry District 1 Councilor Dennis Alcoreza out of the building. The city government had taken over the slaughterhouse, which it previously leased to Dealco Farms, Inc., a livestock and meat firm owned by Alcoreza’s family.

Manila entered into a 25-year lease contract with Dealco on Oct. 11, 1999 to rehabilitate, modernize and operate the 22,000-square meter slaughterhouse.

Mayor Alfredo Lim ordered the takeover, saying that Dealco violated the provisions of the agreement.

Among the violations cited by Lim’s Executive Order 24 are Dealco’s dumping of animal manure into Manila Bay and its failure to install enough sanitary facilities. Dealco also committed to modernize the slaughterhouse’s facilities and equipment but never did, according to the order.

The City Legal Office, headed by Renato dela Cruz, led the team that took over the abbatoir. He said he saw firsthand that the facility was in a state of disrepair, and reeked of animal manure and blood.

The National Meat Inspection Commission, which regulates all slaughterhouses and animal holding facilities, informed the Manila city government about the unhygienic conditions in the abbatoir.

Dela Cruz said Dealco sublet the facility – particularly the spacious second floor designed for slaughterhouse office operations – to Meatworld International Inc., which put in a physical fitness facility. This violates the lease contract, he said.

The team also found out that one of the board members is Alcoreza, a son of Dealco owner Delfin Alcoreza.

When the slaughterhouse was still operated by the city government, a wastewater treatment facility was put in place but Dealco never used it and opted to throw the wastewater right into the bay, Dela Cruz said.

Manila police officials said they deemed Alcoreza’s resistance as a photo opportunity designed to solicit sympathy from the public.

Others see the takeover as political persecution, since it is widely known that the Alcorezas were staunch supporters of former Manila mayor and now Environment Secretary Lito Atienza.