When Marcela Farms Processing Plant in Barangay Lomangog, Ubay town was engulfed by fire, the burning image can leave everyone at the scene breathless. Thursday’s tragedy reminds Boholanos of the fate of the Philippine Carabao Center (PCC) which went up in smoke eight years ago, also in Ubay, Bohol. What used to be a giant and sprawling food processing plant employing thousands of Boholanos is now ashes. Initial estimates pegged the damage at P400 million. (photo by Trixie Dela Peña)
Marcela Farms poultry dressing plant which employs about a thousand workers in Barangay Lumangog, Ubay, Bohol went up in smoke past one in the afternoon, and the fire was put under control five hours later.
No one was reported injured in the perhaps most destructive and costliest fire tragedy in Bohol’s recent history.
The company confirmed that all employees had safely vacated the facility and everyone in the dressing plant was unharmed.
Marcela Farms management said emergency assistance was being provided to those affected by the incident.
ECONOMIC LOSSES
Marcela Farms’ Ubay Dressing Plant has been a key economic driver for Bohol, according to Dodong Arambala, a company employee.
The plant has a capacity of 8,000 chickens per hour, and is responsible for slaughtering the company’s chicken daily.
Many other businesses within the company are related to this dressing plant operation including grow-out farms, breeding farms, hatchery, feedmill, and customers within and outside Bohol, Arambala said.
Stopping its operation will affect the production of these businesses and will take more than a year to rebuild, he said.
According to Arambala, 90 percent of Marcela Farms’ products are exported outside Bohol which brings in a lot of money into the province.
Since the owners are from Bohol, most of these funds are reinvested in Bohol giving more employment opportunities here, he noted.
The fire incident will cause a significant loss in tax revenue for Ubay, he said.
FIRE PREVENTION
The incident at Marcela Farms, part of the Alturas Group of Companies, occured on penultimate of the Fire Prevention Month.
Marcela Farms serves the food needs of the province and institutional customers all over the country and abroad.
The Alturas Group of Companies recently expanded its stake in agriculture with the launching of its third feed mill in Marcela Farms.
The new feed mill has an output capacity of 30 tons per hour and is considered among Asia’s few large-scale feed mills.
In a statement, the company said, “While the fire did cause damage to the plant, the company has contingency plans in place to ensure uninterrupted production and distribution of chicken products.”
Despite the damages caused by the incident, Marcela Farms is doing everything it can to ensure continued supply of poultry products for Bohol, the company said in a statement.
The Bureau of Fire Protection (BFP) is working tirelessly to contain the situation and Marcela Farms will be coordinating closely with them on the investigation, it added.
EYEWITNESS
Fire is indeed a disruptive incident that affects many lives, Arambala noted.
As the incident progressed last March 30, he remembered his personal experience when their only source of income was consumed by fire in less than 30 minutes.
In the same FB post, Arambala revealed the following facts before the incident happened.
“I was in Ubay together with the team for a regular site meeting. I witnessed the fire incident at our dressing plant from its initial stage, went to the site to respond, thinking of the safety of all occupants. Thanks God all are safe!”
“Due to extreme heat forecast last week, the company reminded all managers to be vigilant and do pre-cautionary measures against fire. Fire is considered a big setback in all establishments that’s why the management always reminded us to be preventive. In fact, it was one of the meeting agenda that day. Fire do happen unexpectedly,” Arambala said.
CAPITOL REPORTS
To culminate this year’s National Fire Prevention Month celebration last Friday, March 31, the Capitol Reports invited the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction Management Office, the Bureau of Fire Protection, and the Provincial Capitol’s General Services Office to raise awareness on preventive approaches and precautionary measures for fire incidents.
The weekly show invited Provincial Fire Director FSupt. Raul Bustaliño, PDRRMO Head of Office Dr. Anthony Damalerio, and GSO Head of Office Dr. Gliciero Doloritos.
The resource persons discussed about the importance of “celebrating” fire prevention month and its “purpose to educate Filipinos on what to do to keep themselves safe during a fire breakout.”