BAGUIO CITY –The city council is pushing for the creation of a task force to prepare the comprehensive master development plan of the Slaughterhouse Compound in order to put to order the actual use of the area covered under Presidential Proclamation 312 pursuant to its prescribed use.
The proposal to create a task force was brought to the fore by councilors Leandro B. Yangot, Jr., Isabelo Cosalan, Jr. and Faustino Olowan after listening to the plight of concerned stakeholders in the area over the status of the Slaughterhouse Compound vis-à-vis the existing use of the property.
However, the proposal was referred to the proponents in order to outline the metes and bounds of the powers that will be vested to the task force in the determination of the master development of the property owned by the national government and under the jurisdiction of the Department of Health (DOH).
Barangay officials of Slaughterhouse Compound are supportive of the move to formulate the needed development plan for the area considering that residential areas will be segregated from the current mixed use of the area with the existence of the abattoir, the terminals, parking spaces, flea market among others.
The council also tasked the city legal office to define the jurisdiction of the city veterinary office and the city treasury office on the operation, administration and management of the slaughterhouse to prevent possible conflicts between the said offices that would affect the existence of the facility in the area.
Local city department heads expressed their support to the planned crafting of the master development plan for the operation of the facility, saying that it is high time that the local government should have a definite plan for its abattoir as well as look into the possibility of relocating the slaughterhouse to another area within the city, particularly at the Baguio Dairy Farm and at the city-owned property in Irisan.
However, it was learned the earlier request of the city government to relocate the slaughterhouse to the Baguio Dairy Farm was turned down by agriculture officials for still unknown reasons and the problem on access road and the development of the site was also noted as the premier concerns in the city-owned Irisan property.
The council also extended an invitation to Health Secretary Janet Garin or her duly authorized representative to attend the regular session of the local legislative body on 24 August 2015 to ascertain whether or not the owner of the property does not interpose no objection to the plan of the local government in crafting the master development plan of the slaughterhouse compound and subsequently segregate the areas that are already occupied for residential purposes in order to allow the inhabitants to own the property at the agreed cost.
The council will also seek the stand of the Housing and Urban Development Coordinating Council (HUDCC) on how to undertake the segregation of the occupied portions of the slaughterhouse compound so that the qualified homelot occupants will have preference on the award of the property once the DOH will give its support to the crafting of the master development plan that will serve as a blueprint of the government property for the benefit of the existing occupants of most portions of the reservation. By Dexter A. See
