BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – There’s no letup in the monitoring of Negros Occidental’s ports against the possible entry of African Swine Fever (ASF) and bird flu, according to the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO).
The ban on pork and poultry products from outside the province remains firmly in place, stressed Dr. Placida Lemana, PVO head.
At the BREDCO port alone in Bacolod City, every arriving passenger is checked by the PVO and law enforcement personnel to make sure they are not carrying pork or poultry products from outside the province.
The current monitoring against ASF has been further stepped up as the disease has already spread to 11 towns in Iloilo province, two towns in Guimaras, and Iloilo City.
Negros Occidental has a P6-billion swine industry, while the province’s poultry industry is pegged at P8 billion.
The entry of ASF and bird flu in the province will not only negatively impact the livelihood of the Negrenses but could also severely damage the province’s ability to produce food, as Negros Occidental is also one of the top food producers and exporters in the Visayas.
So far this new year (Jan. 1 to 8), the PVO has confiscated a total of 162 kilos of pork products with a market value of more than P151,000.
Also, the PVO recently ordered a vehicle carrying 20 heads of piglets entering from Negros Oriental to return to its place of origin after failing to provide the required documents.
Aside from the BREDCO and Banago ports in Bacolod City, PVO personnel are also guarding the Bacolod-Silay Airport, as well as the ports in the cities of Cadiz, Sagay, Escalante, and San Carlos and E.B. Magalona./PN
