Local News: SP to AVM Bernardo Engineering: Stop Additional Sevices Fees at Slaughter House3/14/2014 Members of the Bacolod Meat Vendors Association have expressed sigh of relief when the Sangguniang Panlungsod resolved yesterday during the session to issue cease and desist order on AVM Bernardo Engineering to stop charging additional charges to the meat vendors who have their animals slaughtered at the Bacolod Slaughter House.
AVM Bernardo Engineering was contracted by the Bacolod City government during the adminsitration of then mayor now cong. Evelio Leonardia to handle the operation of the Bacolod City Slaughter House on a Build-Operated-Transfer (BOT) Scheme. For 6 years now, AVM has been operating the slaughterhouse, and all animals for sale of meat are slaughtered at the said slaughter house. However, the problem arises when AVM started to charge the meat vendors for additional charges by passing on to them the 12% value added tax aside from the P2.50 per kilo slaughtering fee. According in the complaint aired by Michael Yusingco, president of the vendors, who appeared before the SP yesterday, AVM started the excessive charges on the first week of February 2014. Aside from passing on to the meat vendors the 12% VAT, AVM also include the extremeties, bones, legs, horns and internal organs in charging the meat vendor the slautering fee. Before, only the meat was charged with such fees, which cost them maximum of P400.00 a day only. But now, with the inclusion of the internal organs and extremities, would cost them P4,000.00 more or less daily. Mr. Jerson Juarez, director of the vendors association said, before AVM Bernardo imposed the increased charges of slaughtering fee, it should have observed the provisions in the memorandum of agreement (MOA), Article 3 section 16, that "it shall be allowed to recommend for the adjustment of slaughter and delivery services provided that any increase shall be not more than 12% compounded, and shall be reasonable and justified by the unavoidable increase in the actual cost of operation and only upon the approval and concurrence of the Sangguniang Panlungsod." Hence, Councilor El Cid Familiaran, supported by Councilors Caesar Distrito, Ana Marie Palermo, Sonya Verdeflor, Alex Paglumotan, and Archie Baribar, resolved that the SP shall issue the cease and desist order on the AVM Bernardo Engineering to temporarily stop the charging of additional fees on its slaughtering fees to the meat vendors, including the 12% VAT. To recall, during the committee hearing in February 24, 2014, by the Markets and Slaughter House Committee chaired by Coun. Sonia Verdeflor, AVM Bernardo which wasrepresented by Plant Manager Glorydee Cometa and Legal Counsel Atty Marvin Tanada, manifested their intention to impose the 12% VAT which the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) imposes upon them starting last year. The 12% VAT can be passed on to the customer/buyer pursuant to the Internal Revenue Code. However, the Meat Vendors Association in Bacolod City, represented by its President Michael Yusingco, manifested their opposition because it willl be an additional burden. He said at present the cost of pork is P190.00-P200.00/kilo and the cost of beef is P220.00/kilo. If the 12% VAT will be shifted to them the cost of pork will increase to P223.00/kilo and the cost of beef to P226.00/kilo, to the disadvantage of the consuming public. If a meat vendor has 4 hogs and 1 cattle to be slaughtered he pays more than P50,000.00 a year aside from payment for the slaughtering fees. He also said, MOA between the City and AVM during the last administrations has been favoring AVM, but no protection to the meat vendors, no protection for the city and consequently no protection for the B.I.R. "It is the only the Bacolod slaughterhouse and compared to other AA slaughterhouses in Negros, that charges the highest fees. The meat vendors have no choice but to go to AVM because there is a MOA. . AVM also charges us the cost of plastics while the vendors do not charge their customers the cost of packing. Verdeflor’s committee reports that the meat vendors said, they were not accorded AA handling of their slaughtered meat particularly on the delivery. They said AVM delivers only in one area at an agreed schedule of delivery from 11:00 P.M. – 1:00 A.M. and that while AVM had been operating for more than five years, they were told that it has no delivery truck. However, per their inquiry at the L.T.O. , AVM has 4 trucks- (1) registered in the name of AVM Bernardo (RGF 163); (1) registered in the name of Nelson Lim Golpeo (RGA 814); (1) registered in the name of Alberto Wong (RGH 960) and (1) registered in the name of Glorydee Cometa (KFM 257). Furthermore, there are times that AVM delivers their meat already spoiled because it has no cold storage room. They also pay additional stockyard fee of P5.00-P10.00/day if their hogs remain in the slaughterhouse unslaughtered. They also have concerns about AVM’s waste water treatment. Therefore they are asking the City Mayor’s Office to review the MOA with AVM because they believe that there are so many violations committed by AVM aside from the 12% VAT that they are imposing upon the meat vendors. Considering that Mayor Puentevella was present during the committee hearing, he said, if AVM will not comply, it will force the city to do some drastic measures to protect the meat business in Bacolod City. He also said that if AVM will shift the 12% VAT to its customers the end users will ultimately be affected and it is not good for our people. Then the city will be forced to come into the picture and to use its authority to terminate the MOA, or in the alternative have the MOA amended and negotiate with AVM that the latter continue to operate but not exclusively, which means that the city can seek other alternatives so that the meat vendors can choose where to have their hogs and cattle slaughtered. The resolution of the SP yesterday to issue cease and desist order on AVM Bernardo Engineering to stop charging additional fees to the meat vendors somehow eased the tension among the meat vendors.* by Edith Colmo Negros Daily Bulletin
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