Council defers request for loan acquisition
Iloilo City -- The Sangguniang Panlungsod has deferred the request of the chief executive for the approval of a resolution favoring a P10.8 million loan proposal to the Agricultural Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (ACEF) of the Department of Agriculture.
In last Wednesday's regular session, the council decided to refer the request of Mayor Jerry Treņas to Councilor Ely Estante, chair of the committee on agriculture for study and recommendations.
In his letter to the city council, Treņas said the ACEF loan will be used in the proposed Class "AA" abattoir. The abattoir has a total budgetary requirement of P37.1 million. The loan is interest and collateral free and is payable in seven years.
Of the P37.1 million budgetary requirement, the P10.8 million will be sourced out from the ACEF loan; P12.8 million from Iloilo City government's equity; P11.5 million counterpart from the agriculture department and another P2 million from the congressional fund.
The chief executive said ACEF loan component will be used for the construction of larrage building amounting to P5.1 million; acquisition and installation of equipment and machineries P4.7 million and acquisition of meat delivery vans amounting P1 million.
Millions of pesos have already been poured out for the construction of the Class "AA" abattoir in Barangay Tacas, Jaro. The agriculture department as well as the city government has dispensed portions of their counterpart for the construction of the slaughterhouse.
The new slaughterhouse will replace the old slaughterhouse in Molo, Iloilo City. The sanitation and cleanliness of the slaughterhouse is questionable because of the poor condition of the structure, water and waste disposal system, practices of the butchers and the system imposed by the slaughterhouse in-charge.