DAVAO CITY – Mayor Rodrigo Duterte said he is ordering the police to investigate and file charges of estafa against vendors who are caught selling tuna allegedly laced with pig’s blood to make it look fresh.
Duterte said the vendors would be persecuted for estafa under the Revised Penal Code Chapter Six which discusses swindling and other deceits.
“This is because you make it appear that the fishes you are selling are fresh when it is not,” Duterte said during his weekly program, Gikan sa Masa, Para sa Masa.”
“As a matter of fact, what makes matters worse is that the product is laced with the blood allegedly from a pig. That makes it doubly reprehensible because you must remember that our Muslim brothers are not eating pork,” he said adding that some Christian sects prohibit eating blood.
“It is not a simple violation of the market rules like for example non-payment or if you are unsanitary, unhygienic,” said Duterte.
“I will order the market master to evict the vendor or store owner,” he said.
On September 12, the Davao City Veterinarian’s Office apprehended four fish vendors from Matina Aplaya, Puan and Toril public markets who uses pig’s blood in soaking their tuna fish to make it appear fresh.
Duterte also warned vendors who tamper with their weighing scales to deceive the buying public.
“Those who adjusts their weighing scale to manipulate its weight, that is deceitful,” he said adding that they will also be charged with estafa.
“I will not just confiscate your weighing scale, I will arrest you, put you out of business,” said Duterte. (davaotoday.com)
