• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Mayor Alfredo Benitez has allowed the entry to Bacolod City of live pigs, pork, and related products “with the increasing demand for pork products…and to avert any threat of shortage”.
In Executive Order 09-2024 dated Feb. 23 and made public Feb. 24, Benitez directed the City Veterinary Office (CVO) “to allow the movement of pork and other swine products in the city, pursuant to provisions of Department of Agriculture Administrative Circular No. 22, series of 2022”, on zone classification for the prevention and control of African swine fever (ASF).”
Benitez issued the EO consistent with latest DA circular, “with the increasing demand for pork products…in order to avert any threat of shortage of basic food necessities and, at the same time, prevent the spread of ASF to help revive our local hog industry and its allied industries”.
But he stressed that “necessary permits and pertinent documents should accompany all shipments of live pigs, pork, pork products, and other related products” and for the CVO to strictly monitor and screen compliance, particularly on the documentary requirements.
The mayor’s EO followed the release of Joint Executive Order 1-2024 he signed Feb. 23 with Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson, setting aside last year’s Joint EO, which established the guidelines on the entry of live pigs and pork products to the city and the province, from areas with confirmed ASF cases.
“In view of the different classifications of the Province and the City and upon the recommendation of the DA, there is a need to set aside Joint EO No. 01, series of 2023, in order for the (two) local government units to issue their respective guidelines on the entry of live pigs, pork, pork products, and other pork-related food items from areas with reported cases of ASF,” Joint EO 1-2024 explained.
It added that Bacolod has been tagged by the DA as ASF red zone while Negros Occidental is classified as a dark green zone.
Under DA Administrative Circular No. 22-2022, “Red (infected) zone includes municipalities or cities with confirmed outbreaks of ASF cases…or having ASF detected in domestic and/or wild pigs in affected farms (backyard, semi-commercial or commercial) in one barangay and spreading to other barangays of the LGU within 15 days”.
Dark green (free) zone, on the other hand, includes municipalities and cities where ASF is not detected and are considered of low risk.
Lacson said Feb. 22 that Capitol will continue to ban the entry of live pigs and pork products to Negros Occidental.
“We will continue to follow the policy, and to be strict, especially in areas color-coded as red,” the governor said.
The Provincial Veterinarian Office said that since September 2023, it has not recorded hog mortalities, either due to ASF or hog cholera. | CGC
