5 tons of illegal pork seized at Bacolod port

BACOLOD CITY –– Five tons of illegally imported pork products worth about P500,000 were seized at the Bacolod Real Estate and Development Corporation (BREDCO) port in Bacolod City on Wednesday afternoon.

The imported products from France were reportedly shipped from Cebu and were set for delivery to Iloilo.

Veterinarian Rezel Amacio of the Bureau of Animal Industry said the shipment was owned by a company called Amadeus and Sons.

“During the inspection, the driver of the truck failed to show the shipping permit,” she said.

Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson, who approved the 90-day ban on pork imports from Luzon on Tuesday, led the African Swine Fever Task Force in Negros Occidental in checking the truckload of undocumented imported products.

“Because of vigilance, we were able to ask the carriers to open the van. It turned out that the products found inside had no documents,” said the governor, who is the chairman of the task force.

The provincial government has stepped up its campaign to keep the province free from African Swine Fever.

Provincial Veterinarian Renante Decena, who accompanied the governor at the BREDCO port, said the recovered pork products were immediately burned and buried at the port following the inventory.

“We warn the unscrupulous traders not to violate the order of the government to protect the interest of the people and the raisers,” he said.

The provincial government is now imposing the ban on pork and pork products from Luzon for 90 days following the approval of a resolution passed by the task force on Tuesday./lzb