THE Department of Agriculture (DA) said it could begin rolling out vaccines against African Swine Fever (ASF) as early as this week.
DA Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel said this aims to curb the ASF spread in some towns in Batangas that declared a state of calamity.
“Sa ngayon, walong munisipyo pa lang ang nagdeklara at ang DA is procuring ‘no, the needed vaccines sa emergency procurement system natin but it will take up to first week of September bago nga makuha iyan dahil sa proseso ng burukrasya natin,” Laurel said in an interview with Malacanang Insider.
He added: “Luckily iyong ating supplier nag-donate ng 2,000 doses at darating dito sa Biyernes at hopefully ang target namin is maumpisahan na iyong pagbakuna by Tuesday next week,” he added.
The DA will also put up checkpoint or inspection stations beginning Friday to monitor and control the spread of ASF in Batangas.
“So, it’s not that alarming because the vaccine is on the way. So, hopefully ma-contain natin ‘to. But, of course, it will not be easy ‘no but we will do our best,” he added.
The DA also plans to strengthen its laboratories and research facilities so it can manufacture its own ASF vaccines in the future.
Laurel’s office is finalizing an indemnification program for the affected sector.
Currently, indemnification rate ranges from P4,000 to P12,000 depending on the size of the pig.
“Dati kasi parang kung magkakatay ng baboy na may ASF, P5,000 lang ang ibinibigay regardless of the size of the pig ‘no. Ngayon, ginawa naming tatlong classification – mayroong pangbiik, may pang-medium size, mayroong pangmalaki iyong benta o iyong mga breeder,” Laurel said. (ABS-CBN News)
