The first government-owned “AAA” meat slaughterhouse in the Philippines will be operational starting November, a development that is part of the Department of Agriculture's (DA) modernization efforts for the livestock industry.

This will be followed by the opening of the first "AAA" poultry dressing plant in Bamban, Tarlac before the year ends, said National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) Director Director Reildrin Morales. 

In a statement, the DA said the P187.2-million slaughterhouse – located in Batangas and a joint project by the DA and Tanauan City government – is now targeted to start operations on November 1.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar, who recently inspected the facility's on-going construction, said the Tanauan 'AAA' slaughterhouse will help propel the modernization of the livestock industry in Batangas, one of the top hog producing provinces in the Philippines.  

For his part, NMIS Director Reildrin Morales said the development of Triple AAA' meat slaughterhouses will help raisers produce meat products that could be sold and exported to other countries.

Located near the Tanauan Vegetable Trading Center, the slaughterhouse sits on a 1.9-hectare area donated and developed by the local government unit of Tanauan City.

The slaughterhouse has a total floor area of 2,588 square meters, composed of a mechanized system that can process 500 head of hogs per eight-hour shift. It is equipped with a cold chain network consisting of three chilling rooms, two blast freezers, and three cold storage rooms. It also has a meat laboratory and waste water treatment area.

When the facility starts commercial operation, it will be managed on behalf of the DA and Tanauan LGU by the Unified Batangas Swine Producers Association (UniBat). It will collect fees to sustain its operation and maintenance.  

Dar said the Tanauan LGU should explore the best management arrangements for the facility with UniBat to benefit thousands of swine and poultry raisers in Batangas and entire CALABARZON region, who are still currently battling the highly fatal animal disease African Swine Fever (ASF).

The DA chief then committed to expand the facility by integrating it with a cutting plant, allotting an additional P50-million budget to its construction through the NMIS.

For the expansion, the Tanauan LGU will acquire adjoining lots for the facility.

Aside from the cutting plant, another P50 million will be allotted by the DA for the development of a separate cold storage and poultry cutting facility in San Jose, Batangas. 

“With these poultry dressing and cutting facilities, we will be a step closer to producing mechanically-deboned meat (MDM), and thus reduce imports. At the same time, it would allow for a value-added enterprise for the benefit of poultry farmers in Batangas and neighboring provinces," Dar said.