THE Bacolod City Council has approved a resolution requesting the City Veterinary Office (CVO) through Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez to intensify border inspection of inbound pork products and live hogs within the jurisdiction of Bacolod City to curtail the spread of African swine fever (ASF).

The resolution was authored by Councilor Claudio Puentevella, chairperson of the City Council committee on health.

Puentevella said on May 26, Bacolod City logged the first two ASF cases within its territorial jurisdiction.

He said ASF is a highly contagious viral disease of domestic and wild pigs, whose mortality rate can reach 100 percent, adding that the ASF virus is a large, double-stranded DNA virus in the Asfarviridae family.

“It is the causative agent of ASF. The virus causes a hemorrhagic fever with high mortality rates in domestic pigs,” Puentevella said.

Puentevella noted that Section 15 of Article II of the 1987 Philippine Constitution provides that the State shall protect and promote the right to health of the people and instill health consciousness among them.

He said Section 16 of Republic Act 7160 or the Local Government Code of 1991 mandates the Local Government Units to exercise their power which are essential to the promotion of general welfare of the people.

Puentevella disclosed that intensified border inspection of inbound pork products and live hogs can control and prevent the spread and transmission of ASF within Bacolod City in order to protect the City’s pork industry.