BY ERWIN ‘AMBO’ DELILAN
THE CONTINUING egg hoo-ha in Negros Occidental and Bacolod is getting knotty. It spawned “clashing views” that stunned the public. Too, it became derisory. Invented (funny) words using egg as prefix have grown.
The hoo-ha started with the burning of 2,400 pieces of chicken eggs worth P1.4 million at the BREDCO port in Bacolod City on Feb. 5.
The eggs were said to be from Bantayan Island, Cebu.
The burning was done by those from the Bacolod City Veterinary Office (BCVO) and Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI). Their legal basis:
* Executive Order (EO) No.22-42, series of 2022 by the province
* Joint EO No. 02, series of 2022 by both the province and Bacolod
Both EOs are aimed at safeguarding the multi-billion (pesos) poultry and game fowl industries in NegOcc against bird flu.
Perceived as a major accomplishment, three days after the burning the BCD PIO (Bacolod City Public Information Office) published press and photo releases via Facebook (FB). It caught the attention of Victorias City’s Mayor Javi Benitez. That’s why he cast upfront comments.
“Ang husto, husto. Ang sala, sala. Pero ang pagkaon nga para sa tawo, dapat para sa tawo. Indi ko kaya maghipus lang, kinahanglan ko ihambal sa inyo tanan ang sentimiento ko.”
So, media “feasted” on Javi’s statement.
Javi, sitting president of Negros’ Association of Chief Executives (ACE), is a son of Bacolod City’s Mayor Albee Benitez. The media, therefore, found the issue as “eggciting”. OF all the people, no one expected Javi to “contradict” with the order of his dad and Gov. Bong.
Bird flu is synonymous to disaster if not parried. How worried should we be? It poses a “mega threat” to both fowls and humans, per World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO said humans can be infected via direct contact with infected birds and may suffer from mild respiratory tract infections like fever and cough. Worse are severe pneumonia, sepsis with shock, acute respiratory distress syndrome – all leading to human death.
Hence, making NegOcc still a bird flu-free province in the country is tantamount to a “heroic act” of Gov. Bong.
But Javi didn’t rest. On Feb. 11, again, he “shocked” netizens. He stressed Bantayan ain’t included among the areas in the Visayas under the two cited EOs.
“To all of you, don’t take this the wrong way. I am merely shedding light on a potential solution so this doesn’t happen again and our people can be fed,” he furthered.
Answering Javi’s seethe was City Legal Officer Romeo Carlos Ting.
Ting’s “eggplanation” dated Feb. 12 centered on technical/legal aspect. The egg burning, he “eggplained”, was done because of the dubious documents presented by the driver.
Moreover, the egg driver lacked the following:
* Veterinary Health Certificate (VHC), certifying that the eggs were sourced from a farms with no incidence of bird flu 14 days prior to the shipment
* Veterinary Shipping Permit (VSP) from BAI
* Negative Laboratory Test Result (NLTR) for bird flu of the source flock valid within 28 days prior from the date of sample collection
* Certificate of Acceptance (CA) issued by the Provincial Veterinary of NegOcc.
Thus, Ting stressed, “dangerous cases like this must not be taken lightly nor be tolerated.”
Too, Gov. Bong backed the egg burning.
But Mayor Albee remains mum on the issue (‘till this writing). Can’t he pacify Javi?
Javi seemed to be “unstoppable” now. Though his opinion was well-intentioned, it could be misinterpreted.
On Sunday, Feb. 12, he asked for a review of the concerned EOs.
Theorized by a political pundit, the current brouhaha could be an “eggnition” for a political split between Gov. Bong and the Benitezes.
Gov. Bong, known for his “calm professionalism”, simply uttered: “We’ll continue to protect our pork and chicken industries. So, let’s be very extra careful.”
He stressed, “We’re very serious in our campaign against bird flu. We cannot afford to lose our poultry industry.”
Negros’s and Bacolod’s bizmen “hailed” the egg burning for the poultry business’ and hundreds of thousand workers’ sake.
A mayor who is allied with both Gov. Bong and Mayor Albee has this piece of advice for Javi: “Lead by ‘eggsample’’’.
Being president of ACE, he should support the province’s campaign against bird flu to prevent an outbreak, the mayor added.
“The campaign against bird flu should not be mixed with politics. It simply concerns business and animal and human health,” the mayor said.
Well, the ongoing egg issue is getting interesting. Really, it needs “eggcelent” decoding./PN
