The province of Negros Occidental totally banned the entry of all live pigs, boar semen, pork, pork products, and other related food items from Bacolod City and other areas affected by African swine fever as declared by the Department of Agriculture (DA).
The ban was reiterated by Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson in Executive Order 24-07, Series of 2024, which he issued on Monday, February 26.
Aside from Bacolod City, other areas covered by the total pork ban are Luzon, Mindanao, Region 8, Panay Island, Guimaras Island, Province of Cebu, Camotes Island, Bantayan Island, Negros Oriental, and other countries with ASF.
ASF is a highly contagious disease of swine affecting all ages caused by any of the 23 virus strains with up to 100 percent fatality rate, with no known treatment and vaccine available.
On February 23, the province of Negros Occidental and the city of Bacolod issued a joint EO setting aside the previous joint EO they issued in 2023, which set the guidelines for the entry of pigs and pork products from areas with reported cases of ASF.
Bacolod City then lifted the ban on the entry of live pigs, pork, and pork products from other parts of the country to address the growing demand and revive the local hog industry.
Lacson, in his EO, stated, "In view of the different ASF zoning classifications of the City of Bacolod and the Province of Negros Occidental and upon recommendation of the DA, there is a need to issue separate guidelines on the entry of live pigs, pork, pork products, and other pork relate food items from areas with reported cases of ASF."
"Majority of the cities/municipalities in the province of Negros Occidental are classified as Pink to Light Green Zones and are now ready for hog repopulation and implementation of biosecurity measures to prevent the recurrence of transboundary swine diseases," the governor explained.
He further stated that Section 16 of the Local Government Code of 1991 provides that every local government unit shall exercise the powers expressly granted, those necessary implied therefrom, as well as powers necessary, appropriate, or incidental for its efficient and effective governance, and those which are essential to the promotion of the general welfare.
Exemption to the imposition of the ban or allowed
entry into the province of Negros Occidental are
processed pork products that are fully cooked such as ham, sausages, hotdogs, canned goods, pork chicharron, pork-based seasonings, and the like, provided they are sourced from meat establishments with a Certificate of Compliance to the AS Public-Private Audit (PPA), Transshipment and/or transfer of imported pork and pork products, provided that the country of origin is ASF-free and in case of transfer, the pork items must come from cold storage exclusive for imported meat.
Gilts, boars, and semen for breeding purposes coming from colored zones, except from red zone, provided the following conditions are met: The source farm must have a valid certificate of free status on ASF, and BAl-accredited swine breeder farm, as well as all breeder pigs to be delivered must be negative from ASF based on RT-PCR test conducted within one week prior to shipment.
Live pigs, boar semen, pork, and pork products which have any of the following irregularities in their shipping and supporting documents are likewise prohibited entry into the Province of Negros Occidental: Bacolod City has lifted the ban on the entry of live pigs, pork and pork products from other parts of the country to address the growing demand and revive the local hog industry.
The provincial veterinary inspectors are authorized to conduct inspections at seaports, airports, and other points of entry and intercept incoming shipments of live pigs, boar semen, pork, pork products, and other pork, and confiscate banned items and act in accordance with Provincial Ordinance No. 2023-008, Series of 2023 otherwise known as "African Swine Fever Prevention Ordinance of Negros Occidental,” as amended, the EO further stated.
"We are hopeful that we can recover from the losses from ASF and we would like to get back to the status of being the biggest producer of backyard hogs or backyard raisers," Lacson said.
He also said, "We will still strictly follow the protocol. This will be a little more difficult because while before with our joint EO with Bacolod City, we could watch them at the port but this time they can enter Bacolod so it will be more difficult for the LGUs under the province but we'll just have to be more vigilant. I want to make it clear that all other ports will strictly not allow pork products from red zones," Lacson said.
He said all ports under the province would strictly follow the ban and that the province would no longer deploy personnel to monitor pork entry at the Bredco Port in Bacolod.
"We'll find ways how to monitor it," he added.
Bacolod City has already lifted the pork ban after it noted that pork prices in the city have gone up to P410 per kilo due to limited supply.*