There are now 144 barangays in 18 towns and cities of Negros Occidental with reported hog deaths, the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) said.
Hog industry losses further increased to P166 million, as swine deaths already reached 14,738, as of June 27, PVO reports indicated.
But Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said that the number of swine mortality has gone down, from an average of more than 400 at its peak, to at least 150 daily; there were also days with no recorded pig mortality.
The hog deaths constitute 9.74 percent of the 151,281 pig population of Negros Occidental, PVO reports further showed.
Only the 1st District of Negros Occidental, composed of the cities of San Carlos and Escalante, and the towns of Toboso, Calatrava, and Don Salvador Benedicto, is spared from hog death.
On the other hand, San Enrique logged 2,671 deaths, or 99.22 percent of its 2,692 hog population.
Lacson has discouraged the repopulation of pigs until the spread of diseases is fully addressed.
The provincial government of Negros Occidental, local government units of Bacolod City, Bago City, San Enrique, and Hinigaran have extended financial assistance to affected hog raisers, the bulk of which are backyard raisers.
The LGUs in Negros Occidental hit with the African swine fever are the cities of Victorias, Silay, and Bacolod, as well as the municipalities of Hinigaran and Pulupandan.
The Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation reported that about 58,139 hogs raised in backyards in Western Visayas are covered by the PCIC, adding there is a guaranteed indemnification budget of P709 million for those hit by ASF.
PCIC 6 manager Eva Ulie Laud, in an interview Wednesday, said that from June 2022 until June 15 this year, they have insured 26,913 fatteners owned by 4,556 hog raisers, with risk exposure of P270 million.
In the same period, 31,226 breeders, owned by 13,652 farmers, were covered with an exposure of P439 million.
The highest claim came from backyard hog raisers in Aklan with P15 million worth of indemnity for 1,017 affected animals; Iloilo province, P7 million for 654 animals; Capiz, P2.5 million for 213 animals; Negros Occidental, P1.6 million for 169 animals; Antique P156,000 for 15 animals; and Guimaras, P136,000 for 14 ASF-hit swine. /GB, PNA
