• CHERYL G. CRUZ
Twelve towns and cities in Negros, including San Enrique in Negros Occidental, are listed in the red zone, or those affected by the African swine fever (ASF), as of the latest ASF zoning update from the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Animal Industry (DA-BAI) July 13.
San Enrique is back in the red zone category after more than a year, as Mayor Jilson Tubillara confirmed cases of ASF in his town last month.
Aside from the municipality, the other LGUs under the red zone are Bacong, Basay, Bindoy, Dauin, Dumaguete, La Libertad, Pamplona, Siaton, Sibulan, Tanjay, and Zamboanguita, all in Negros Oriental.
Bacolod, which also earlier announced hog deaths due to ASF, is still in the pink, or buffer zone category, per the July 10 DA-BAI ASF disease status.
In Sagay, Mayor Leo Rafael Cueva has signed Executive Order 046-2026 to regulate the minimum retail price of pork sold within the city.
He said that effective today, July 15, the minimum retail price of pork is P270 per kilo, and P200 a kilo minimum buying price for pork carcass.
Cueva said the ASF “has brought panic to the local hog growers, where some of them sold their hogs for very low price, prompting a ‘price war’ among local meat retailers/vendors.”
To protect the interest of both the local hog raisers and the meat retailers or vendors, majority of the vendors agreed during a meeting July 10 to have a uniform price in the selling of pork, the EO states. | CGC
