THE Negros Occidental provincial government will release financial assistance to the 4,000 hog raisers affected by hog deaths during the first half of July, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said Thursday, June 29.
Diaz said the Provincial Veterinary Office has been tasked with validating the list of hog raisers qualified to receive the financial assistance.
“We will ensure that it will be released before the banning period for the upcoming Barangay and Sanggunian Kabataan elections,” he added.
The Capitol allocated P10 million for the assistance.
Each beneficiary will receive P2,000 in cash assistance.
But Diaz said raisers who did not follow biosafety protocols, like those throwing their dead pigs into waterways, would not qualify to receive the assistance.
Data showed that losses for hog raisers due to hog deaths have already reached P166 million in 18 localities.*