ILOILO City – The Department of Agriculture (DA) in Western Visayas warned the public against buying pork products from online sellers as these could have been sourced from areas affected by the African swine fever (ASF).
“Ginahingyo gid ang mga pumoluyo nga indi mag-patronize pork products sold online,” said Director Remelyn Recoter.
Products from unscrupulous online shops may not have undergone inspection and certified by the National Meat Inspection Service, she explained.
DA Region 6, according to Recoter, continues to monitor attempts by suppliers from Luzon and other ASF-affected areas in Mindanao to transport processed pork products to the region.
This holiday season, she further appealed to balikbayans not to bring pork and pork byproducts as pasalubong.
The regional director appealed to the public do their part in protecting the region’s P20-billion swine industry – with a big percentage of these are backyard hog raisers.
“We will do our best in protecting our borders,” said Recoter during yesterday’s year-end press conference and Media Pasasalamat cum National Rice Awareness Month Culmination program.
All provinces in the region, except Guimaras, have banned the entry of pork and its byproducts from parts of Luzon and ASF-affected countries.
Despite this, Recoter said, the region’s pork supply remains sufficient.
Meanwhile, Dr. John Roel Hilario of the Bureau of Animal Industry – Veterinary Quarantine Service of DA-6 said they are strengthening the inspection and border checkpoints in various ports in the region.
Just recently, the bureau, together with the Provincial Veterinary Office in Negros Occidental, confiscated a total of 250 kilograms of pork ham sneaked in the region through roll-on, roll-off vessel.
The consignee of the said pork ham was from Barangay Mansilingan in Bacolod City.
As to the online selling of pork products, Hilario said monitoring these activities is a big challenge.
Hilario underscored the need to protect the region’s swine, saying almost all regions in Luzon, the biggest pork producer in the country, were already hit by ASF as well other areas in Mindanao.
“Diri sa aton sa Region 6, wala man na sang ASF cases. So imagine, the entire Philippines including Visayas will be affected – madulaan kita sang source sang pork,” said Hilario./PN
