THE Department of Agriculture (DA) in Davao Region will propose for the establishment of a regional animal disease task force, which will monitor all sorts of diseases that would affect the country's animal industry.

DA-Davao Region Disease Monitoring and Surveillance Unit chief Armie Capuyan said while the country faces the threat of the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus, there is also a need to strictly monitor other diseases.

"That is why the name of our task force is generalized so that we would also be able to monitor other diseases such as the avian influenza (bird flu) which would affect our poultry industry," Capuyan said on Friday, October 4, during the Kapihan sa PIA press conference.

She said the task force, which is currently under consultative stage, will comprise of different teams: Rapid Action Team, Surveillance Team, Quarantine Team, and the Information and Education Campaign (IEC) Team.

Capuyan said they will be presenting it to the Regional Risk-Reduction Management Council (RDRRMC) for the creation of a resolution for the task force's establishment.

Capuyan added that different concerned agencies, including the different local government units (LGUs) in the region, will be part of the regional task force.

“The involvement of the DA and LGUs (local government units) in the task force will strengthen our effort for the disease monitoring because different teams will be formed,” she said.

The DA official, meanwhile, said that the ASF virus remains to be contained in Luzon.

However, they will continuously monitor the situation.

Recently, the Davao City Veterinarian's Office (CVO) recorded some 1,000 kilograms of hog products that were confiscated since the banning of pork products from Luzon and other areas which took effect more than a week ago.

The City Government of Davao, through an executive order signed by Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio last September 23, temporarily banned all live pigs, pork and pork-related products and by-products, whether fresh, frozen, processed or cooked, including but not limited to frozen boar semen, from Luzon and other ASF-affected areas.