CITY OF SAN FERNANDO – Can the ham you buy for the Noche Buena table be made from “botcha” meat?
This concern was raised here before the regional office of the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) amid a series of busts of so-called “double dead” or botcha meat being transported in various parts of Central Luzon, mostly in Bulacan.
The issue of botcha ham was thus listed as among advisories of the DTI for the Christmas season, including buying only government-approved Christmas lights, pyrotechic and DTI to firecraker products and avoiding toys that could turn out to be toxic for kids.
But DTI regional director Blesila Lantayona admitted that her agency has limited manpower to check manufactured products usually bought during the holidays.
She said her agency has yet no reports of hams, which is a staple in Noche Buena tables among Filipino families, made from botcha. “Still, the best way to avoid botcha ham would be to patronize reputable brands or those marked with government approval,” Lantayona said.
The campaign against botcha was the objective of the establishment of more checkpoints, including mobile ones, in various parts of Central Luzon particularly in Bulacan towards Metro Manila.
Maricel Cruz, chief of the public affairs office of the Bulacan provincial government, said the increase in the number of checkpoints was also coupled with the stricter monitoring of slaughterhouses in all public markets in her province as the Christmas season nears.
She said Gov. Wilhelmino Alvarado wrote to all the 24 municipal and city mayors in the province as well as to Bulacan police director Senior Supt. Fernando H. Mendez Jr. to back operations against the illegal trade of botcha.
Alvarado said those transporting meat should have the livestock handlers license from the Department of Agriculture.
Livestock traders must acquire a veterinary health certificate from licensed veterinarians while meat dealers should have a shipping permit from the Provincial Veterinary Office, he added.
The mayors also received copies of the recently approved Provincial Hot Meat Ordinance which prohibits the transport and distribution of the meat from dead disease-stricken hogs.
They were urged to strictly implement the said law which also provides for the closure of any violating slaughterhouse.
Provincial veterinarian Dr. Voltaire Basinang reported that 10 hot meat traders passing through Bulacan were recently already apprehended by the PVO in coordination with the Bulacan Provincial Police Office and its Provincial Public Safety Company headed by Supt. Fitz Macariola.
