EMERGENCY MEETING. Mayor Mary Marlyn Lambino (middle) leads an emergency meeting on Feb. 17, 2020, to tackle the confirmed cases of African swine fever (ASF) in the town. Lambino immediately issued an Executive Order for the mandatory blood sampling of all pigs in the town and the ban on entry and exit of swine and other pork products. (Photo courtesy of Councilor Aldrin Soriano's Facebook page)
MANGALDAN, Pangasinan -- The town’s local chief executive here has ordered a mandatory blood sampling of all pigs in the municipality, and the lockdown of the town against the entry and exit of swine and other pork products to prevent the further spread of the African swine fever (ASF).
Mayor Mary Marlyn Lambino issued Executive Order 2020-L-009 on Feb. 17 after some pigs in Barangay Bateng here tested positive for ASF.
“The case was first recorded last February 14, where 21 pigs were affected in Barangay Bateng,” councilman Aldrin Soriano said in an interview Wednesday.
The Department of Agriculture declared Barangay Bateng as ‘ground zero’ and immediately enforced the 1-7-10 protocol.
Under the protocol, barangays Bateng, Bantayan and Talogtog were under close monitoring.
Soriano said Lambino immediately called for an emergency meeting, together with Liga President Councilor Rolly Abalos, Municipal Agriculture Officer Merle Sali, Municipal Local Government Operations Manager Romari Soriano, and Chief Administrative Officer Helen Aquino, together with other town councilors.
“She (Lambino) also included in the EO the ban on processed and frozen food because it might also be contaminated with the virus,” he said.
Soriano added the local chief executive also mandated all barangay chairmen to conduct an inventory of pigs in their respective barangays in order to tally the swine’s total population.
Based on the record of the Mangaldan Municipal Agriculture Office, there were already 52 pigs culled and buried in Barangay Bateng.
Meanwhile, preventive measures have been recommended to prevent the further spread of ASF.
“We would like to urge the residents to immediately contact authorities if pigs in their area have died, or if there are suspicious activities concerning the purchase of pigs in town,” Soriano said.
The municipality of Mangaldan has a total of 30 barangays. (PNA)
