100 workers sidelined, processors lost contracts
SEAFOOD PLANT STOPPAGE
POLITICS continue to wreak havoc in Dagupan City.
The plight of some 100 families depending on livelihood from the newly-opened Seafood Processing Plant in Dagupan City continue to be uncertain as the facility remains closed on account of continued refusal of the city government to issue a business permit for its operations.
The workers, mostly illegal settlers who were resettled in Sitio Korea in Bonuan Binloc after they were removed to give way to the construction of the plant, have been trained by the plant as fish deboners.
With the temporary closure, the seafood plant management’s plan to train more deboners from the city market and backyard processors as back-up personnel has also been put on hold.
The sudden and continued closure of the plant also resulted in losses for six food processors that engaged the plant after failing to deliver on orders from both local and foreign buyers.
Two of the processors export their products to the United States, one to China.
The plant, built through a grant from the South Korean government, is owned by Dagupan City but management was handed to the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources (BFAR) with Dr. Westly Rosario as interim plant manager.
Mayor Benjamin Lim, who wants the plant’s management turned over to the city government, had questioned the plant’s operations without a business permit.
Rosario, who pointed out that the plant was still undergoing test operations when the suspension of operations was ordered by BFAR head office, is hopeful that the city government will soon issue the business permit for the application the plant has filed on the first week of October.
Rosario, also chief of the National Integrated Fisheries Technology Development Center, said they completed all the requirements of the city hall for the issuance of business permits, except a new requirement, a certification from the Bureau of Food and Drugs (BFAD).
“I hope representatives of BFAD from Manila will come soon to inspect the processing plant,” said Rosario, even as he pointed out that the plant was already exempted from this requirement when they sought clearances from the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), being co-equal government agencies
According to Rosario, the plant has secured a certification from the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) since its processed products are intended for export to the U.S.
“Kaya in the spirit of Christmas, we hope that the LGU (Dagupan local government unit) will finally issue the business permit,” he added.
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