Makati, QC give hotlines vs sale of 'tainted' fish

As they continued efforts to seize "double dead" fish from areas affected by a fish kill in Batangas and Pangasinan, the local governments of Quezon and Makati Cities have announced their respective hotlines where consumers can report the sale of any spoiled food item. In Quezon City, veterinarian Dr. Ana Marie Cabel also said the local government has strengthened its coordination with government agencies in examining suspected tainted fish. "Nakipag-ugnay kami sa Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources dahil sila ang gagawa ng testing," Cabel said in an interview on dzBB radio. She said the public can call the Quezon City Health Department at 9297539 to report suspected tainted fish. Meanwhile, in Makati City, Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr. urged residents and consumers to be vigilant and immediately report any illegal sale of spoiled fish, poultry or meat products in Makati to the city veterinary office at telephone numbers 757-1413 and 889-7949. Seizures in QC In Quezon City, personnel from Cabel's office had seized some 200 kilos of tainted fish from the Balintawak Market last Friday. Cabel said the team also seized "20 to 30 kilos" of fish from the Commonwealth Market but they were stopped by a staff of the market. "A staff member of the market came and stopped our inspection," she said. She said they decided to leave the Commonwealth Market at the time because they had no police personnel to back them up. But she said she planned to report the matter to Quezon City Mayor Herbert Bautista for him to take the appropriate action. 'Tainted' fish buried Authorities in Makati City seized and buried at least 125.25 kilos of fish believed to be from fish kill-affected areas in Pangasinan and Batangas. The Makati City government said the fish was seized from 11 vendors in Pembo-Rizal, Pembo and Comembo, and in the Guadalupe Nuevo and Sacramento Markets. “Our (city veterinary office) inspection teams have intensified their monitoring of all small and big markets and supermarkets in the city following the fish kill incidents. I have ordered them to continuously monitor these outlets even on weekends and penalize anyone caught selling ‘botcha’ fish," Mayor Binay said in an article on the city web portal. City veterinarian Dr. Ma. Vivien Manalastas said the confiscated fish, particularly bangus, tilapia, and gurami, had been buried at the Makati Cemetery Friday. Manalastas said that since last week, the inspection team led by Dr. Jaime Inocencio III has been going around the city streets and markets to make sure that residents and the general public are protected from possible food poisoning. Inocencio said the inspection team had confiscated:

• 27.75 kilos of bangus and 13.5 kilos of tilapia in Pembo Rizal Market;
• 12.5 kilos of bangus and 13.75 kilos of gurami in Pembo Flea Market;
• 38 kilos of bangus in Comembo Market;
• 17.33 kilos of bangus in Guadalupe Nuevo Market; and
• 2.5 kilos of bangus in Sacramento Market.

Inocencio said their investigation showed that some of the spoiled fish they confiscated were those that remained unsold three to four days after being delivered fresh to the market. According to him, sale of spoiled food items violates RA 9296 otherwise known as Meat Inspection Code of the Philippines, Consumer Act of the Philippines, and City Ordinance No. 96-016. Under City Ordinance No. 97-016, violators are to be fined P500 for the first offense, P1,000 for the second offense, and for the third offense, P1,000 and/or imprisonment of five months at the discretion of the court. Meanwhile, Manalastas said a survey conducted by the Meat Inspection Division three weeks ago showed the volume of fish sold in the market decreased by 60 percent from a total of the daily volume of 11.91 metric tons, because some of the fish vendors had temporarily closed their stalls. — LBG, GMA News