BACOLOD CITY – Quarantine inspectors in Negros Occidental confiscated pork products that arrived from neighboring Iloilo province over the weekend after these items were banned here starting Oct. 14, following a reported incidence of African swine fever (ASF) in Oton, Iloilo.
Dr. Placeda Lemana, office-in-charge of the Provincial Veterinary Office, said on Monday the banned food items were seized after these were unloaded from roll-on, roll-off vessels at the Bredco Port in this city on Oct. 15 and 16, and were immediately shipped back to the point of origin.
“When the ban started, our quarantine inspectors raised alert. The shippers were also willing to let their products be shipped back,” she told reporters.
The confiscated items, which were worth about PHP20,000, included ground pork, marinated pork products and pork molo balls, among others.
Last Friday, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson directed members of the Provincial ASF Task Force to impose a ban on the entry of all pigs, pork, pork products and other related items from the islands of Panay and Guimaras, including the provinces of Iloilo, Antique, Capiz, Aklan and Guimaras.
Negros Occidental, which has a PHP6-billion swine industry, is an ASF-free province.
Lacson ordered task force members to conduct rigid and stringent screening and inspection of incoming shipments of live animals and pork products from Panay and Guimaras; hold checkpoints to intercept and control the movement of live animals, pork, pork products, and other related items entering the province; and confiscate and condemn undocumented shipment of live animals and animal products into the province.
In a separate memorandum, the governor also informed all local chief executives in Negros Occidental about the ban, and directed them to ensure the implementation of preventive and safeguard measures embodied in the “ASF Prevention Ordinance of Negros Occidental”.
“The incidence of ASF poses a great threat to the province, being one of the major producers and gateway of live pigs being supplied to Luzon, Central and Eastern Visayas,” he added.
In the past three years, Negros Occidental has also prohibited the entry of live pigs, pork, and pork products coming from Luzon, Mindanao and Eastern Visayas, which all have confirmed cases of the swine disease. (PNA)
