DAVAO CITY—Mati City mayor Michelle Nakpil-Rabat of Davao Oriental said the local government will be establishing a Halal-certified dressing plant for chicken, a major project that will make the city globally competitive in terms of food production.
During the Regional Consultative Forum and Promotion on Halal Food Industry, the local chief executive said that a budget of P45 million would be set aside to put up the dressing plant in support of the industry in Mindanao.
“Rest assured, from the City of Mati, we will be supporting this. Mati is now going to build a P45 million dressing plant for our chicken. While it is not yet there, we will make sure that it will be Halal so that we can be competitive in the world because the whole world now is practicing Halal. When you say, ‘buy chicken, this is halal, buy beef this is halal.’ We will do the same with Mati, so globally we will be competitive,” she said.
She pointed out that there were only a few markets and restaurants that offer Halal-certified goods and services, leaving the Moro people, who are living in the province, with limited options.
“We have problems encountered every time we call for meetings. We have difficulties, especially if we have our Muslim brothers and sisters around because we have to be sensitive to their needs as well... We have to be sensitive to their culture, to what their needs are, and give them respect. You learn to respect them and they will respect you in return,” she said.
Rabat said she wanted her city to seize the promising opportunities for Halal businesses in the world as she noted a growing global demand for the consumption of Halal-certified goods.
Mati City is known for its surfing spot Dahican, which draws tourists from different parts of the world.
“Halal means pure and safe, so we want to practice halal as a way of life here in Mati, which is clean, pure, and safe. We want to make a safe place for our citizens and for our visitors as well,” she added.