THE Provincial Veterinarian’s Office (PVO) conducted African Swine Fever (ASF) and Hog Cholera surveillance in Barangay Mamacao, Kapalong, as part of Davao del Norte’s effort to maintain a pink zone classification—areas with no active ASF cases.
Barangay Mamacao was among the communities hit by the ASF outbreak in 2020, which led the province to be declared a red zone.
To ensure livestock remain safe, the provincial government focused its monitoring on barangays previously affected by the outbreak. Officials said the inspections confirmed that most backyard hog raisers were following proper biosecurity measures.
“Gipahimangno usab sa PVO ang mga farmers nga magpadayon sa estriktong biosecurity aron malikayan ang pagbalik sa sakit (The PVO also reminded farmers to continue observing strict biosecurity practices to prevent the disease from returning),”One DavNor posted on Facebook on February 5, 2026.
Dr. Minelo Generale, senior agriculturist at the PVO, said around 500 blood samples were collected in 2025 from nine local government units. All tested negative for ASF and Hog Cholera, viral diseases that cause severe illness in pigs.
The surveillance forms part of Davao del Norte Governor Edwin Jubahib’s directive to sustain the Department of Agriculture’s livestock dispersal program for local farmers.
Understanding ASF and zoning
African Swine Fever is a highly contagious and often deadly viral disease that affects domestic and wild pigs but does not infect humans. It is caused by the African swine fever virus (ASFV).
Under the Philippines’ National ASF Zoning and Movement Plan, areas are classified by risk:
Red zone: Active ASF cases confirmed; strict quarantine, movement restrictions, and culling enforced.
Pink zone: Buffer areas surrounding red zones; may have had past infections but currently no active cases.
Yellow zone: High-risk surveillance areas near pink zones with no active infections.
Green zone: Protected areas with no ASF, lower risk.
Dark green zone: Areas free of ASF, lowest risk.
ASF in Davao Region
The 2020 outbreak affected Tagum City and the municipalities of Sto. Tomas and Carmen are in Davao del Norte. By March 2021, authorities had culled roughly 47,401 pigs to curb the virus, impacting about 10,078 farmers across 209 barangays in 40 local government units.
Swine inventory in the region dropped 8.07 percent from 941,256 in 2020 to 865,277 in 2021, while hog production fell 4.2 percent, from 40,841 metric tons (MT) live weight to 39,136 MT. RGP