Linked to "hot meat" incident? Mayor to vice mayor: Probe councilor

DUMAGUETE CITY, Philippines – Mayor Manuel Sagarbarria is asking Vice Mayor Alan Gel Cordova to take appropriate action and conduct an immediate investigation on an incident last month regarding an anti-hot meat operation in which a city councilor was purportedly involved.

In a letter dated October 4, 2012, Sagarbarria noted that the incident, which happened last September 21 and involved Councilor Antonio Remollo, was a matter within the competence/jurisdiction of the city legislative branch and that as presiding officer of the City Council, he was indorsing the matter to the vice mayor.

The mayor’s request for a probe by the City Council via Vice Mayor Cordova stemmed from an incident last month in which the Hot Meat Surveillance Team of Task Force Sagarr swooped down on an alleged hot meat vendor who was allegedly roasting a pig (lechon) within the vicinity of his house.

The inspecting team was headed by Charles Tubog, Team-1 leader of Task Force Sagarr and who was joined later by Dr. Lourdes Socorro, city veterinary officer.

During the inspection at Cervantes Extension in Barangay 8, the suspect, identified as Jerry Barrera, who city officials tagged as a “well-known hot meat vendor/supplier”, purportedly made a phone call to Councilor Joe Kenneth Arbas, allegedly seeking the latter’s intercession.

An incident report by Task Force Sagarr showed that Councilor Arbas, whose voice was heard over the speaker phone of Barrera’s cellphone, told the latter to contact Councilor Antonio Remollo.

Later on, Remollo allegedly arrived and spoke to the inspecting team, asking them not to confiscate the lechon but to just impose penalties and collect fines from Barrera.

Socorro however insisted there was a violation of the law and so, the lechon must be confiscated apart from penalizing the suspect.

Remollo claimed that a City Hall employee had ordered the lechon to be delivered to Singapore, to which Socorro said she will not issue a clearance for its shipment, citing a law against hot meat.

The city councilor then announced that he would instead take charge of the lechon as it was the birthday of a nephew/niece, but Socorro again reminded him that it was hot meat and that the rotisserie pig must be confiscated.

The city veterinarian left ahead of Tubog and his team, who told Barrera to report to the City Hall and sign the confiscation receipt. Barrera appeared later that day at the office of Socorro, who told him there was no confiscation receipt to sign because the lechon was not delivered to her office.

Tubog admitted there was miscommunication that apparently led to the failure of the anti-hot meat team to confiscate the lechon after Remollo interceded.

Sagarbarria, in asking Vice Mayor Cordova to conduct the probe, was optimistic of an appropriate response that would “surely help regain the confidence of our law enforcers and would serve as a good example to the public at large.”

Cordova, for his part, said he will let the process take its course and referred the matter to Councilor Esperidion Catan, chairman of the committee on personnel, and Councilor Erwin Macias, chair of the committee on ethics. (FREEMAN)