BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The African Swine Fever (ASF) Task Force of Negros Occidental’s Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) will start imposing penalties for the smuggling of pork and pork products into the province.
PVO acting head, Dr. Placeda Lemana, said under a provincial ordinance, the penalty will be not less than P1,000 but not more than P5,000 and imprisonment for six months but not more than one year.
In the case of Bacolod City, she said, the penalty is P2,000 for the first offense, P3,000 for the second offense, and P5,000 for the third offense.
Lemana’s push for penalties against those caught violating the ASF provincial ordinance came amid the rise in pork and pork products seized by the joint provincial and city task force in the seaports of Negros Occidental and Bacolod City.
PVO data showed around 402.55 kilos of pork and pork products worth P167,671 were seized, and another 20 kilos were seized from the Bacolod-Silay Airport from Nov. 7 to 18./PN
