BY MAE SINGUAY
BACOLOD City – Despite the City Legal Office’s favorable endorsement, Mayor Monico Puentevella has refused to issue a business permit to AVM Bernardo Engineering, private operator of the city government’s slaughterhouse in Barangay Handumanan.
AVM must first settle it’s arrears with the city government now reaching P1.3 million, Puentevella said.
“There is no legal impediment for the issuance of the permit. AVM has complied with all the requisites needed for the renewal of its permit,” said Atty. Cesar Beloria Jr., the City Legal Office executive tasked to study AVM’s case.
But Puentevella won’t budge. Gloridee Cometa, plant manager of AVM, had written him twice already on June 20 and July 9.
Cometa said the mayor has not responded.
AVM has paid the city an aggregate sum of P109,937.50 for the first and second quarter of year 2014, Cometa said.
The mayor, however, is insisting on the full payment of P1.3 million.
He recently said he may ask the city council to terminate the city government’s contract with AVM.
The slaughterhouse started operating in August 2008. It replaced the old abattoir in Barangay 35.
AVM invested P54 million in the rehabilitation and operation of the facility under the build-operate-transfer scheme.
In its contract signed with the city government under then mayor Evelio Leonardia (now congressman), AVM will operate the slaughterhouse for 20 years, then turn it over to the local government.
In 2008, it was then projected that the operation of the new slaughterhouse would give the city a savings of P10 million a year and an income of P3 million in rental and regulatory fees.
The city government was then spending between P6 million to P7 million a year for the operation of the old slaughterhouse in Barangay 35./PN
