Dino wants Duterte support for total ban on pork from Luzon in Visayas

CEBU CITY –– Secretary Michael Lloyd Dino, Presidential Assistant in the Visayas, has recommended to President Duterte to support the total ban on the entry of pork and pork-derived products from Luzon imposed by the governors in the Visayas to prevent the spread of the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus.

In a memorandum sent to the Office of the President, Dino said the move of the governors was aimed at protecting the livelihood of backyard farmers that constitute 70 percent of the hog industry in the Visayas.

“There is a high risk of contaminating the local hog industry run by backyard farmers who augment their feeds with leftover food collected from different food establishments,” the memorandum said.

The Central Visayas hog industry is worth about P20 billion, more than half of it from Cebu, which is said to be the 4th largest in the country.

Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia has imposed a 100-day ban on the entry of pork and pork products to prevent the entry of the ASF virus in the province.

A similar ban was imposed by Governors Arthur C. Yap of Bohol, Roel R. Degamo of Negros Oriental. and Zaldy S. Villa of Siquijor.

Around 58 of 81 provinces in the country have imposed the ban to protect their hog industry.

In his memorandum, Dino noted that the ban didn’t affect the supply of pork in the provinces and its prices.

Producers, he added, even noticed a 10-percent surplus in the supply.

Dino told the President in his memorandum that the ban imposed by the governors could be indefinitely extended until the country is free from ASF.

A similar memorandum was sent to the Cabinet Secretaries of the Department of Agriculture, Department of Trade and Industry, and Department of Interior and Local Government, according to the statement released by the Office of the President in the Visayas./lzb