Davao City Mayor Sara Z. Duterte. (File photo of PNA)
DAVAO CITY -- The city government here has started releasing payouts to farmers affected by the African swine fever (ASF) in Barangays Lamanan and Dominga in Calinan, a top official said Monday.
Mayor Sara Z. Duterte said that right after Friday's declaration of a state of calamity in the two villages, the City Council also approved the PHP20-million calamity fund as assistance to the affected farmers.
Councilor Bai Hundra Cassandra Advincula, the proponent of the resolution, said the declaration of state of calamity was necessary so that the city government would be able to use its Quick Response Fund (QRF) to assist the affected hog raisers.
“As per info that we receive, the moment that we approve the resolution today and ordinance to utilize the QRF, the City Veterinarian’s Office (VCO) will immediately give them assistance,” Advincula said during Friday's special session.
Aside from the assistance of the Department of Agriculture (DA) of PHP5,000 per head, which excludes sucklings, the city government also gave PHP5,000 or PHP90 per kilo to the affected hog raiser’s pigs, whichever is higher, while piglets were priced at PHP1,500 per head.
Mayor Sara also clarified that there will be no assistance to the meat vendors, "only on the affected hog raiser in the two villages.”
As of February 9, about 1,085 heads were culled out of the 2,500 target ASF-affected population in Barangay Lamanan, which affected 150 farmers, while 398 heads were culled in Barangay Dominga, with 121 affected farmers.
The CVO reported that about 3,000 hogs in the two villages were possibly affected by the deadly ASF virus.
Meanwhile, Duterte urged the public to report suspected cases of ASF or any swine disease to the CVO.
“I encourage everyone, if your pig is sick, call the CVO for them to check, inspect, and conduct immediate depopulation if it turned out to be positive from ASF,” she added. (PNA)
