BACOLOD City – In a bid to protect the city’s hog industry, Councilor Wilson Gamboa Jr. is pushing to institutionalize measures to avert the spread of the dreaded African swine fever (ASF).
Gamboa recently introduced an ordinance that would permanently ban the entry of pigs and pork products from Luzon and other African swine fever (ASF)-affected areas.
The councilor cited Mayor Evelio Leonardia’s existing executive order forming the city’s anti-ASF task force. But Gamboa wants to solidify the campaign through the passage of an ordinance.
He also said that his proposed policies were patterned to the ordinance implement by the provincial government of Negros Occidental and other local government units.
One of the provisions of Gamboa’s proposed ordinance states that the city’s anti-swine fever task force will be placed in charge of preventing the importation and sale of hogs and pork products coming from areas affected by swine fever.
Earlier, City Agriculturist and Anti-ASF task force head, Atty. Goldwyn Nifras, recommended a ban on the importation of pork into the city amid ASF scare.
The proposed ordinance on ASF was passed in the city council for first reading on Dec. 11./PN
