• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Two local government units (LGUs) in Negros Occidental have tightened restrictions on the movement of hogs and pork products as authorities intensify efforts to prevent the spread of African swine fever (ASF) following recent pig deaths in parts of the province.
In La Castellana, Mayor Añejo Nicor issued an executive order on Monday, June 22 imposing a temporary suspension on the entry of live swine, swine semen, pork and pork-derived products, saying it may pose biosecurity risks that could adversely affect the local swine population and the livelihood of hog raisers.
Nicor clarified in the executive order that the measure shall not be construed as a declaration of the presence of any particular animal disease within the town.
Checkpoints have been established at entry points from Negros Oriental and its neighboring Isabela and Moises Padilla towns to prevent the transport of live hogs into the municipality.
Municipal public information officer Remuel Lajo said that La Castellana has not recorded ASF cases or unusual hog deaths, stressing that the preventive measures are intended to keep the municipality disease-free.
San Enrique Mayor Jilson Tubillara also announced that he will issue an executive order prohibiting the entry and transport of live hogs within and outside the municipality after nearly 500 hogs died across 10 barangays.
Although laboratory results from blood samples have not yet been released, Tubillara said the directive may be signed immediately as a precautionary measure to protect the local hog industry from potential outbreaks.
He warned that if laboratory tests confirm ASF as the cause of the deaths, stricter measures could be implemented, including a possible province-wide ban on hog sales.
Negros Occidental suffered significant losses from ASF and hog cholera in 2023, with nearly 18,000 hog deaths recorded.
Tubillara encouraged hog raisers to secure livestock insurance to help safeguard their investments from losses caused by disease outbreaks.
He noted that during the previous ASF outbreaks, the municipal government was among the first to provide assistance to affected raisers, including those without insurance coverage, with additional support from the provincial government.
In Moises Padilla, Mayor Ella Celestina Garcia-Yulo ordered a crackdown on the illegal sale of imported meat and meat products in local markets.
Garcia-Yulo issued Executive Order No. 293, following reports of imported pork and poultry products being sold without the required quarantine certificates.
Under the order, a monitoring and apprehension task force will conduct inspections in public markets, supermarkets, and private warehouses.
As a designated “pink zone,” Moises Padilla has intensified preventive measures to protect its hog and livestock industry from ASF and other deadly animal diseases.
The heightened alert across Negros Occidental follows the confirmation of new ASF cases in Capiz.
In an advisory issued on June 18, the Capiz Provincial Veterinary Office reported that blood samples collected from swine in Roxas City, Panitan, and Pontevedra tested positive for ASF following laboratory examinations conducted by the Regional Animal Diseases Diagnostic Laboratory-Western Visayas. | GPB
