ILOILO – A total of P3,626,000 in financial assistance was released to African Swine Fever (ASF)-affected farmers in this province.
As of Jan. 26, the provincial government through its Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) was able to release the cash aid to 367 hog farmers from six municipalities:
* Oton – P1,745,000 (195 farmers)
* San Miguel – P1,075,000 (94 farmers)
* Leganes – P373,000 (39 farmers)
* New Lucena – P180,000 (14 farmers)
* Mina – P59,000 (eight farmers)
* Alimodian – P194,000 (17 farmers).
Based on an executive order of Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr., the amount of financial assistance would be based on the number of the recipients’ swine heads, whether sow, fattener, or young swine (except suckling), as follows:
* one to five hog heads – P7,000
* six to 10 hog heads – P10,000
* 11 to 15 hog heads – P15,000
* 16 to 20 hog heads – P20,00
* 21 to 25 hog heads – P25,000; and
* 26 hog heads and above – P30,000.
The list of beneficiaries will be based on the submissions of local government units affected by ASF.
As of Jan. 27, 18 towns recorded ASF infections. Of these, 13 towns were red zones while five were pink zones.
The red zones are the following: Oton, San Miguel, Leganes, New Lucena, Alimodian, Santa Barbara, Janiuay, Mina, Barotac Nuevo, Dumangas, Banate, Dingle, and Barotac Viejo.
The five pink zones are Dueñas, San Dionisio, Batad, Badiangan, and Zarraga.
‘ASF IS HARD TO CONTAIN’
Defensor admitted there are limitations to implementing ASF containment measures.
“Ang containment indi sia solution gid nga ma-100 percent gid sia. Although we tried our best. That is why we don’t give up on checkpoints. Mabudlay sia i-sustain but again ang checkpoints naton naga-focus sa live hogs and pork kay una daan based sa limitation indi ka makapamukas [of the passengers’ bags],” the governor said.
He also appealed to the public to avoid bringing in pork products and live hogs from areas infected with ASF.
Currently, only the 1st District’s San Joaquin town remains under the dark green zone in the entire province.
Dark green zone means ASF has not been detected and the municipality is considered low-risk for the hog disease.
Meanwhile, the towns of Igbaras, Miag-ao, Bingawan, and Carles are under the light green (protected) zone, which means ASF has not been detected and they are considered moderate-risk areas following the risk criteria.
Under the yellow zone or surveillance areas are Guimbal, Tubungan, Calinog, Sara, Concepcion, Balasan, and Estancia, including Passi City. In yellow zone, ASF is not detected but is adjacent to the pink (buffer) zone./PN
