Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson has requested Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia of Cebu to allow the shipment of pork products from Negros Occidental bound for Eastern Visayas, to pass through her province.
Garcia has ordered a ban on the entry of live pigs and pork related products from Negros Island, after an African swine fever case was detected in Cebu City from pigs that allegedly were in stockyards with those from Negros.
This also prompted Negros Occidental and Bacolod City to order a ban on the entry of live pigs, boar semen, pork and its related products, following the detection of ASF cases in Cebu.
Lacson said he already wrote a letter to Garcia, and asked that she lifts her executive order, stressing that Negros Occidental has not been declared a “red zone” for ASF cases.
But he admitted that the situation has become challenging for Negros Island as it is now surrounded by provinces with ASF cases.
Both Negros Occidental and Bacolod also banned the entry of live pigs and pork related products from Panay Island and Guimaras, due to ASF cases in those areas.
Lacson said he even suggested to hog farmers in Negros Occidental to send their shipments to Manila as an alternative. But he said that the latter complained that the current pricing of pork in Manila is very low./GB
