ILOILO City – The city government has expanded its swine ban coverage to include the Davao Region (Region 11).
The province of Davao Occidental which is part of Region 11 declared a state of calamity early this week, with up to 10,000 hogs affected by African swine flu (ASF) in two municipalities.
ASF is a highly contagious hemorrhagic viral disease that spreads rapidly in pigs. Since there is no known vaccine against it yet – sick pigs die in two to 10 days – ASF is destructive to the swine industry.
Mayor Jerry Treñas’ latest Executive Order (EO) No. 097-2020 amended his previously issued EO No. 003-2020 on the ASF ban to expanded the coverage.
According to Treñas, the ban will stay in effect “until the ASF problem is totally resolved as declared by the Department of Agriculture (DA).”
From now on, live pigs, hog carcasses, pork and pork product and by-products originating from and/or processed in Region 11 would be barred from entering Iloilo City.
The ban also covered Luzon and countries with ASF – Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Luxemburg, Belgium, Bulgaria, Moldova, Czech Republic, South Africa, Zambia, Hong Kong, Mongolia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, Laos People’s Democratic Republic, South Korea, and China.
The goal is to protect the local swine industry, stressed Treñas.
“Section 16 of Republic 7160 (Local Government Code of 1992) states that every local government unit shall exercise the powers expressly granted, those necessarily implied therefrom, as well as powers necessary, appropriate or incidental for its and effective governance, and those which are essential to the promotion of the general welfare,” EO 097-2020 stated.
The Davao Region is situated at the southeastern portion of Mindanao, comprising five provinces: Davao de Oro, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, Davao Oriental, and Davao Occidental.
In Davao Occidental, the two towns with ASF cases were Don Marcelino and Malita. These were the first cases of ASF in Mindanao, according to the DA.
October last year, Treñas issued Executive Order No. 99-A-2019 totally banning for 90 days live pigs, hog carcasses, pork and pork products and by-products originating from, and/or processed in Luzon.
Despite the ban, Iloilo City has not experienced a shortage in pork, pork products and by-products as there are lots of local suppliers and hog raisers./PN
