THE City Veterinarian's Office (CVO) has confiscated 1,438 kilograms of illegally slaughtered and spoiled meat in Davao City from January to September 2026, mostly pork from lechon houses and talipapas, or small neighborhood wet markets.
Dr. Reylan Hadcan, Meat Control Officer of the CVO, gave the figure during the I-Speak media briefing on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026, ahead of Meat Safety Consciousness Week.
"More on baboy po siya and mga illegal slaughter, and also spoiled [meat] (It is mostly pork, from illegal slaughter, and also spoiled meat)," Hadcan said. Asked where the meat was seized, he replied, "Sa mga lechon houses, and also sa mga talipapa (From lechon houses and also talipapas)."
None has been confiscated from the city's public markets so far.
No closures yet
No establishment has been closed for violations. Instead, the CVO has issued show-cause orders, mostly to people who slaughter animals illegally beside their houses and to vendors known to sell such meat.
"Wala pa," Hadcan said. "Nag-issue lang ta'g show cause order or kanang gina-patawag nato sa office kay ginapa-explain ngano'ng naga-nakocommit sila sa mga violation (Not yet. We only issued show-cause orders, or we summon them to the office to explain why they committed the violations)."
Persistent violators with business permits are referred to the Business Bureau, which has the power to close them. The CVO itself does not impose fines and can only confiscate meat, he added.
Under the Meat Inspection Code, the CVO covers all establishments that handle, cut, or slaughter meat, and regularly inspects slaughterhouses, dressing plants, public markets, talipapas, meat shops, and supermarkets. Joint inspections with other city offices are set during Meat Safety Consciousness Week.
The NMIS-Davao has set the 33rd Meat Safety Consciousness Week from Monday to Friday, Oct. 19 to 23, 2026.
What to check
Hadcan's first advice to consumers is to look for the Meat Inspection Certificate, which shows that the meat came from an accredited or legal slaughterhouse or dressing plant:
"Kung ikaw consumer or mupalit ka ug karne, una-una tan-awon nimo is ang karne is naa ba'y papel ... nga gina-tawag nato na Meat Inspection Certificate (If you are a consumer buying meat, the first thing to check is whether it has the paper we call the Meat Inspection Certificate)," he noted.
Other signs are the official stamp on carcasses from accredited slaughterhouses, and leg bands on chicken from dressing plants. Meat that forms bubbles when washed is also not normal.
He also reminded the vendors to stop selling spoiled or illegally slaughtered meat and to stop using coloring to make meat look fresh.
No African swine fever has been detected in the city's slaughterhouses and meat establishments, according to Hadcan, though the overall ASF status is handled by another CVO division.
As for pork, supply is stable for now, but he could not say whether it would hold through the holidays: "Stable pa atong supply. I don't know pag-abot sa December (Our supply is still stable. I don't know when December comes)."
Across the region, the NMIS-Davao had confiscated more than 2,000 kilograms of "hot meat" as of July 2026, its regional technical director, Dr. Lailanie Rose Rico, said at a media forum on Sept. 30. GRS