• CHERYL G. CRUZ
The highly-urbanized Bacolod City, as well as Escalante City and the town of Valladolid in Negros Occidental, remain under the African swine fever (ASF) red zone, or infected, classification, as of the latest zoning status released by the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI).
In the pink, or buffer zone from red, are Bago City, Binalbagan, Cadiz City, Calatrava, Don Salvador Benedicto, E.B. Magalona, Hinigaran, Ilog, Isabela, Kabankalan City, La Carlota City, La Castellana, Manapla, Moises Padilla, Murcia, Pontevedra, Pulupandan, San Carlos City, Silay City, Talisay City, Toboso, and Victorias City.
Sipalay is the lone LGU under the green or protected zone, while Candoni, Cauayan, Himamaylan City, Hinoba-an, Sagay City, and San Enrique are categorized as yellow, or surveillance zone.
The BAI had explained that those categorized in the yellow zone are areas where the dreaded hog disease has not been detected and adjacent to the pink zone, while green is ASF-free.
The BAI also said Oct. 3 that several hog farmers and swine industry groups have sought the assistance of Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. in convincing President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to approve the emergency use authorization (EUA) of the ASF vaccine from Vietnam, instead of the Monitored Release that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted to the vaccine supplier.
The group, led by AGAP Partylist Rep. Nicanor Briones, and composed of the Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines Inc., among others, said that allowing the emergency use of the vaccine could inoculate approximately 6.3 million piglets and fatteners, benefiting both commercial and backyard hog raisers, and potentially fostering a full recovery of the swine industry.
It added that since the ASF virus severely impacted the local hog industry as early as 2019, backyard farmers, who raise about 3.8 million piglets and fatteners, would be the most significant beneficiaries.
“The EUA, as defined by the U.S. FDA, is a mechanism designed to facilitate the availability and use of medical countermeasures, including vaccines, during public health emergencies,” the BAI said in a statement, adding it was enforced during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing the use of unapproved vaccines to combat the rapidly spreading virus. | CGC
