DAVAO CITY — The Davao City Veterinarian’s Office tightens its border monitoring on the entry of hogs and its byproducts into the city markets as cases of African Swine Fever (ASF) hit the towns and villages near the city borders.
Dr. Cerelyn Barrios-Pinili, the City Veterinarian in an interview with Newsline.ph on Friday said “We are strictly monitoring the entry of hogs and its byproduct into the city due to confirmed cases of ASF in Davao del Sur, North Cotabato and recently in Davao del Norte.
The city tightens its borders in Barangay Sirawan, the border of Davao City ad Davao del Sur, in Barangay Magsaysay in Marilog District-the the border between Davao City and North Cotabato and in Barangay Ilang-the border between Davao City and Davao del Norte.
Barrios-Pinili said is asking all business establishments selling and buying pork meat and its by-products to get their supplies from legitimate swine growers certified as African Swine Fever (ASF)-free to ensure the products are safe.
Davao City has yet to totally contain the challenge posed by ASF and people need to cooperate by checking that the meat they consume is ASF-Free “To stop the spread of the bacteria”.
“In buying meat, every consumer should look for the safety seal which is stamped on any part of the carcass, for a lechon, they must see to it that the owner has been issued ASF-Free certificate,” Pinili told Newsline.
The agency issued the call after the ASF team at the Sirawan checkpoint intercepted eight (8) heads of undocumented swine carcasses on July 9, 2020. The pork meat products were smuggled into Davao City from Padada, Davao del Sur without a permit.
Last week, the Department of Agriculture (DA) Region 11 confirmed that some villages in Bansalan, Davao del Sur are still affected by ASF. In the same week, the DA-12 also confirmed ASF cases in three barangays in Magpet, North Cotabato.
As it is now, the Meat Inspection Code of the Philippines or Republic Act 10536, and the Executive Order No. 39 series of 2019 of Davao City temporarily ban all live pigs, pork and pork-related products and by-products from ASF-affected areas to enter the city.
Violating the law, she said, means “they have to face the risk and the legal consequence because we are implementing the law seriously to protect our people and to contain the spread of the virus”.
Owners participation
Pinili also called on all hog farmers to report to their office immediately if ever they notice mortalities or signs of the disease in their pigs.
“Those who are into backyard hog raising must establish their own quarantine protocol, put-up disinfection, and quarantine area, they must clean themselves before going inside their pigpens, their shoes, the car tires and no one should eat meat from areas with ASF cases,” Pinili emphasized.
The City Veterinarian’s office is providing disinfectant and other technical support to backyard piggery owners to prevent the spread of ASF.
Addressing herself to backyard piggery owners, Pinili said “Given the coronavirus-19 situation, and the economic burden that everyone is experiencing, we just have to support each other so we can contain and prevent the ASF to enter the city.”.-Editha Z. Caduaya/Newsline.ph
