ASF ACTION PLAN. Department of Agriculture (DA)-Central Visayas regional director Salvador Diputado (right) speaks with veterinarians from different local government units in Cebu during the "Bantay ASF Forum" at a hotel in Cebu City on Wednesday (May 12, 2021). The forum was held in response to Proclamation No. 1143 signed by President Rodrigo Duterte on May 10 declaring the country under state of calamity for one year. (Photo courtesy of Lawyer Salvador Diputado)
CEBU CITY – In response to President Rodrigo Duterte’s declaration for a year-long state of calamity due to the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak, the Department of Agriculture (DA) in Central Visayas and local government veterinarians on Wednesday met to outline an action plan.
Lawyer Salvador Diputado, DA-7 regional director, said the DA and the National Meat Inspection Service (NMIS) in Region 7 has engaged the city and town veterinarians in a two-day “Bantay ASF Forum” in a hotel here after Duterte signed Presidential Proclamation 1143 on Monday.
The proclamation mandates all government agencies to cooperate and to mobilize the necessary resources to curtail the spread of ASF.
The issuance also seeks to address the supply deficit of pork products, reduce retail prices, and jumpstart the rehabilitation of the local hog industry through the swine repopulation program of the government.
During the first day of the forum, NMIS-7 director, Dr. Eduardo Oblena, DA-7’s ASF focal person Dr. Samuel Castro, Cebu Provincial Veterinary Office head Dr. Rose Vencoy, and some veterinarians from different local government units in Cebu province listened to presentations on the proposed action plan.
“The vets conducted briefings on the things that we need to do being in an ASF-free province. We have measures designed for the ASF-hit LGUs and measures to areas that do not have ASF,” Diputado told the Philippine News Agency in an interview.
Cebu and the three other provinces in Central Visayas remain ASF free, but the highly contagious hemorrhagic viral disease of pigs was detected in Eastern Visayas (Region 8) in January this year.
Diputado said the action plan in relation to the President’s state of calamity declaration nationwide would “focus more on information dissemination” about the available government-sponsored insurance system through the Philippine Crop Insurance Corp. (PCIC) that will provide subsidy to farmers whose hogs would be infected with ASF.
Last month, DA Secretary William Dar said that through the PCIC insurance program, the government is doubling the indemnification payout for every pig that contracts ASF from PHP5,000 to PHP10,000.
With the increased indemnity, hog raisers are encouraged to report affected pigs and control the spread of ASF, he said.
Diputado also urged LGUs to include in their annual budget the anti-ASF campaign programs. Part of this, he said, is the LGU-initiated swine repopulation program.
“We are also urging the LGUs in Cebu and Central Visayas to integrate the ASF Biosecurity Protocols into their policies through the passage of an ordinance,” he said.
He commended Governor Gwendolyn Garcia for issuing several executive orders strictly securing the borders against the entry of ASF-infected hogs and pork products.
He also said hog raisers should also enlist with the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture (RSBSA) before signing for insurance application with the PCIC for verification of the farmer’s identity.
ASF was first reported in the country in 2019. It has so far spread to 12 regions, 46 provinces, and 493 cities. (PNA)
