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Council nullifies Manila mayor's takeover of Vitas Slaughterhouse


MANILA, Philippines – The Manila City Council on Tuesday nullified Mayor Alfredo Lim’s takeover of a private slaughterhouse in the capital city’s Tondo district last July. According to a GMA Flash Report on Tuesday, 32 of the 37 councilors voted against Executive Order No. 24, which Lim signed to close down the Alcoreza-owned Vitas Slaughterhouse. Only three councilors voted for the executive order and one abstained. Councilor Dennis Alcoreza inhibited himself from the voting. The Alcorezas own the Dealco Farms Inc, which runs the slaughterhouse with Alcoreza’s sister, Joy, sitting as the firm’s executive vice president and his brother, Paul, as a stockholder. According to the councilors who favored the nullification, Lim should have first consulted with the council before going to the slaughterhouse to evict its officers and employees. But Lim insisted that his office has the prerogative to decide whether or not to take over the slaughterhouse. To justify the takeover, Lim said Dealco Farms violated its 25-year lease contract with the city by failing to modernize the slaughterhouse. During the July 11 take over, policemen from the Manila Police District (MPD) were forced to carry Councilor Alcoreza out of the 22,000-square meter abattoir after he refused to leave. After the allegedly "abusive" takeover, Majority Floor leader Councilor Manuel Zarcal and 23 other councilors announced their resignation from the committees they to protest the MPD’s "arbitrary acts" against Alcoreza. The MPD said they had to take such an action, especially after Joy allegedly bit and stabbed a policeman with a pen. Joy said the biting and stabbing incident was accidental. The Alcorezas had already brought up the matter to the Commission on Human Rights and filed a seven-page complaint against Lim and several city officials. The two warring parties have also threatened to file charges against each other. The Alcorezas plans to file administrative complaints against the police, which in turn is considering on hurling charges for direct assault and illegal assembly. Mark Merueñas, GMANews.TV
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