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By Rommel C. Lontayao and Ruben
Manahan 4th, Reporters
Mayor Alfredo Lim of Manila and
other city officials and policemen should not be blamed for the
alleged abusive and brutal takeover of the Vitas slaughterhouse, a
Manila Police District station commander said Friday.
“During the takeover, the
employees peacefully left the premises one after the other, while
some who refused were urged to leave quietly. [Councilor Dennis
Alcoreza of Manila] merely staged a drama to make it appear that he
was being dragged out of the slaughterhouse for the media to see and
cover,” Senior Supt. Rolando Miranda said.
On Thursday, Alcoreza and his
sister filed a complaint before the Commission on Human Rights
against Lim and seven other city officials and police operatives,
including Miranda.
Miranda stressed that Alcoreza,
whose family owns Dealco, which previously operated the
slaughterhouse, said that he would rather be carried out rather than
leave the place.
“We will face the charges he
filed against us. Otherwise, anyone who has incurred a debt [with
the city government] will have the wrong notion that they have the
right to refuse to pay,” he said.
City legal officer Rene dela Cruz
said the takeover in the slaughterhouse came as a result of reports
reaching City Hall regarding its very unsanitary condition and the
continued refusal of the Alcoreza family to settle their obligations
to the city government.
Aside from non-payment of rentals
and real property taxes, dela Cruz said the Alcorezas have also not
been paying the one percent share of Manila from their firm’s
gross earnings for the past eight years, which is stipulated in
Dealco’s contract with the city government.
Lim willing to
settle matters
Lim, however, said Friday that he
is willing to settle the dispute between the city government and
Alcoreza, as long the latter will pay their debts to the city.
“We have no intentions of
claiming the Vitas slaughterhouse or any other business. What we
just want them to do is pay their dues,” Lim said in a forum at
the National Press Club.
Lim also said that they are only
doing what is written in Dealco’s contract, which stipulates that
“any violations embedded in the contract will necessitate for
extrajudicial takeover.”
“Around a week before the
forced takeover of the city government, I’ve already talked to
around 10 meat dealers who can attest the fact that there were no
improvements in the said abattoir [slaughterhouse],” Lim said.
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