THE Cebu Provincial Government is prepared to open its ports and airports in order for hog farmers and other pork producers to continue earning a living amid the threat of swine disease.
This was announced by Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia during a press conference held on Camotes Islands on Thursday, June 8, 2023, on condition that the local chief executives will also adopt the protocols implemented in Cebu province to safeguard its swine from the African Swine Fever.
The National Zoning and Movement Plan of African Swine Fever by the Bureau of Animal Industry in local governments is divided into various color schemes.
"Cebu is ready to open its ports and airports to all local chief executives (LCEs) regardless whether they have been colored red or pink for as long as we shall enter into a memorandum of agreement where among others our own protocols in protecting our hog industry be adopted as well in the respective government units of the LCEs," Garcia said.
These protocols that have been implemented in the province include the strict monitoring of all backyard hog raisers, regular cleaning and disinfection, regular reporting and the requirement to separate pigs if they exhibit symptoms.
"We have very very simple protocols and it has proven that these protocols have been effective as I said what has happened here in Cebu where there had been no massive deaths, even if I had refused the culling policy of BAI. What has happened here in Cebu has now become an embarrassment for the Bureau of Animal Industry because they cannot answer me," the governor revealed.
According to data from the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) as of June 7, 2023, 64 cases of swine sickness were reported in the province, of which 23 cases were caused by ASF and 16 cases by classical swine fever or hog cholera.
Meanwhile, out of a total of 26,199 pigs on Camotes Islands, there was just one death that was documented.
But the deceased tested negative for ASF or Classical Swine Fever (CSF).
San Francisco has the highest population of pigs with 11,551, followed by Poro with 1,866, Tudela with 446 and Pilar with 567.
The four mayors of Pilar, Poro, San Francisco, and Tudela on the Camotes Islands jointly urged Leyte Governor Leopoldo Dominico Petilla and Ormoc City Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez to open their borders and markets to the importation of pigs and other products after they had been closed due to the threat of ASF.
The League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) Cebu Chapter, headed by Mayor Sun Shimura of Daanbantayan town, is also expected to back the demand. (ANV, TPT)