MISAMIS Oriental Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Benjamin Resma yesterday said they are monitoring not just the ports, supermarkets and wet markets in the province but also online sellers of processed food with pork from Luzon.
Resma said that this month, they have confiscated processed pork products "Siomai" which were shipped from Taytay, Rizal and sold in the markets of Alubijid, Tagoloan, and other areas in the province.
Authorities discover and intercept the online seller through monitoring their Facebook page.
"Mao man gud ni sya ang danger aning mga processed na kay kung karne gyud dad-on, dili man pwede kay dako man, makita. So ila nang ihawon, i-process na nila, ibaligya. Isulod og taxi didto sa Rizal og Bulacan so mao nang makalusot gyud ni," Resma said.
"Among gi-chat nga mopalit mi mao tong atong na-intercept dayun,"he added.
The province has checkpoints in airports and seaports and in Magsaysay and Lugait towns to prevent the entry of fresh/frozen pork meat and processed pork products from Luzon and other identified African Swine Fever (ASF)-affected areas in the country and abroad.
"Mindanao is ASF free. Kaya i-maintain natin yung istrikto tayo sa pagpapasok," Resma said.
Last month, Misamis Oriental Governor Yevgeny Emano amended his executive order imposing a total ban of pork products not only from ASF-affected areas but the whole Luzon.
The total ban stemmed from the request of swine raisers in the province after a meeting with the governor on September 24.
In Cagayan de Oro, the City Veterinary Office said there is no African Swine Fever (ASF) scare in the city noting the lively market of hogs despite the presence of ASF in other parts of the country.
City Veterinarian Dr. Lucien Anthony Acac said there is no decline of hog production in the city, which means "Kagayanons still have high confidence in buying pork products in the markets."
Acac said 250 to 300 heads of hogs daily are still the number of hogs slaughtered in the city slaughterhouse before and even after the ASF issue erupted. He added that products in lechon houses are still sold out.
"Business as usual lang gihapon, walay giingon nga nagluya ang atong pumapalit tungod sa ASF. Maintain ang 250-300 heads of hogs daily ang na-slaughter so makita nato ang Kagayanon padayon gihapon ug kaon sa karneng baboy kay nakita nila at peace sila because of our exact information education campaign," Acac said.
The city has strengthened its anti-ASF campaign by setting up new quarantine stations in the boundaries of Tagoloan, Bugo, Opol, Ala-e, Talakag, Dansolihon, San Simon, Indahag, and Baungon.
Meanwhile, the Department of Agriculture-Northern Mindanao (DA-10) reminds hog raisers that swill feeding or the feeding of scraps to pigs is prohibited.
DA-10 regional veterinary officer Dr. Julesben Cesar Maquiling said the ASF virus thrives on scraps of food and survives days in either high or low temperatures.
In the city level, the Anti-ASF task force has tasked the City Local Environment and Natural Resources Office (Clenro) to collect swill from public markets instead of giving it to hog raisers.
Acac said the swill collected will be recycled by Clenro by composting it and turning it into a fertilizer.