DAVAO CITY-The City Council here unanimously approved an ordinance mandating the segregation of halal food from non-halal food in the market. “As far as I know no one in the country is offering a halal lane, so this would be the first,” Sudagar.
The 17th City Council on its regular session on April 19, 2016, approved the measure.
Councilor Halila Sudagar, chairperson of the Committee on Cultural communities and Muslim Affairs called it ““Muslim-friendly ordinance, I as far as I know this is the first in our country no one in the country which prescribes a halal lane.”
“We are so proud that Davao City in the only city in the Philippines able to pass an ordinance segregating Halal products, I am sure it will increase the awareness of the people on the principles and concepts of Halal.”
“The purpose of the ordinance is to promote, protect, and respect the religious belief, customs and traditions of our Muslim community in Davao City in their sacred concept of halal and to ensure the spiritual purity and cleanliness on their food consumption,” the ordinance reads.
As approved, “All grocery stores and other establishments selling raw fish, seafood, meats, processed meat and other meat products, including suppliers thereto, to segregate halal food from non-halal/haram food items, from delivery to storage, display weighing, slicing carrying thru baskets/carts/trolleys.”
Section 6 of the ordinance states that suppliers, owners of grocery stores or supermarket through the managers, staffs, and tenants shall provide separate storage, container, or freezer exclusively for halal food items and halal-certified meat products.
The ordinance will be forwarded to the executive department this week for review this week.
Based on the ordinance, all supermarkets in the city are required to provide a separate payment counter called as “halal lane” for the final packing of the halal food.
The ordinance aims to promote, protect, and respect the religious belief, customs and traditions of our Muslim community in Davao City in their sacred concept of halal and to ensure the spiritual purity and cleanliness on their food consumption.
Among the prohibited acts in said ordinance include improper covering or sealing of halal products, mixing of halal with non-halal products, and failure to provide a space in the payment counter in the market.
Violating establishments will be fined between P500 pesos and P1,000. Penalties for second-time offenders hovers from P1,000 to P3,000 pesos and/or suspension of the business permit and license to operate for at least three to six months. Third-time violators will be fined from P3,000 to P5,000, on top of a revocation of their business permit and license to operate.
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