NEGROS Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson signed on Thursday, February 6, a memorandum addressed to all local chief executives on banning the entry of hogs and pork products from Mindanao following an outbreak of the African Swine Fever (ASF).

Lacson cited in his memorandum records and findings of the Provincial Veterinary Office that the ASF has spread over Mindanao region, particularly in Davao Occidental, where an estimated 1,000 hogs have already died.

He said the Department of Agriculture has no clear-cut and immediate measures to protect the nearby regions and provinces from being affected by swine fever.

He also stated that such incidence of swine fever poses a great threat to the province, being one of the gateways of livestock and meat products to provinces in Panay and Luzon.

The imposed ban is also in pursuant of Provincial Ordinance 2019 024, otherwise known as the "African swine fever Prevention Ordinance of Negros Occidental."

Based on a report released by online news-site Rappler, Davao Occidental Governor Claude Bautista has declared a state of calamity following the outbreak of ASF.

Bautista said the outbreak had left only 7,000 hogs out of the 13,000 hog population in the town of Don Marcelino alone, and to prevent the virus from further spreading, they have decided to cull the remaining pig population.