• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Mayor Alfredo Benitez has declared June 2 that Bacolod City is “locally free from the African swine fever (ASF)”.
In Executive Order 11 dated June 2, Benitez said the declaration of Bacolod “locally free from ASF will signify the City’s achievements in disease control efforts, bringing economic stability and consumer confidence in the pork production industry of Bacolod”.
His declaration came following the recommendation of the City Veterinary Office, after Bacolod’s classification was upgraded from red, or infected zone, to pink or buffer zone, per the Bureau of Animal Industry’s zoning status, as of May 5.
Department of Agriculture Region VI director Dennis Arpia also evaluated the documents submitted by the City Veterinary Office as a requirement for the local declaration of the ASF-free status, and found them in compliance with DA Administrative Order 30-2021, or the guidelines on the recovery and declaration of freedom from ASF for local government units, the EO said.
The DA6 highly commended the efforts of Bacolod’s Local ASF Team and recommended that the city pursue a local declaration from an infected zone to a buffer zone, it added.
Bacolod had been in the red zone since middle of 2023 after it logged two cases of ASF. | CGC
