ILOILO – To avoid the resurgence of African Swine Fever (ASF) and protect hog raisers recovering from its financial ill-effects, the provincial government has tightened its border control, particularly along boundaries with Negros Occidental and Antique.
A 24-hour, seven-days-a-week surveillance is being observed at the Dumangas port in Dumangas town and Bay-ang port in Estancia, each manned by more or less 10 personnel, according to Dr. Darel Tabuada, Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) head.
Further, the PVO has coordinated with the local government unit of San Joaquin to ensure that all movements of swine, pork, and pork products follow guidelines and are well documented.
San Joaquin’s status as a green zone, or an area where ASF is not detected and is considered low risk, should be protected because it has the biggest contribution to the revival of the province’s swine inventory, Tabuada explained.
Tabuada also said since farmgate prices of hogs in Negros Occidental and Antique have gone down due to ASF, some businesses in Iloilo source from these two provinces.
The Iloilo provincial government allows the entry of swine, pork, and pork products from Negros Occidental and Antique, or even Capiz, as long as guidelines set by the Department of Agriculture (DA) are observed, which includes securing a business permit.
In obtaining the shipping permit, the pork trader must secure a “certificate of free status” in the barangay or town where the pork originated. But before a certificate of free status is issued, an ASF-negative laboratory test result must be secured from the DA.
As of June 29 inventory of the PVO, Iloilo has 90,543 hogs left. This is down by 101,757 from the Sept. 30, 2022 inventory of 277,421 hogs.
Despite this, Tabuada assured residents that the supply of hogs is sufficient for the province’s consumption.
There are currently 27 towns affected by ASF: Oton, San Miguel, Alimodian, Santa Barbara, Leganes, New Lucena, Mina, Janiuay, Dumangas, Barotac Nuevo, Pototan, Dingle, Banate, Barotac Viejo, Ajuy, Concepcion, San Dionisio, Batad, Estancia, Balasan, Maasin, Badiangan, Dueñas, San Enrique, Zarraga, Lambunao, and Carles./PN
