Benguet bans entry of live pigs to keep ASF away from province
BAGUIO CITY—Benguet Gov. Melchor Diclas has banned the entry of live pigs into the province to prevent the spread of the African swine fever (ASF).
In an executive order he issued on Wednesday (Feb. 6), Diclas said samples they sent for laboratory testing tested positive for ASF.
The samples came from hog farms in Camp 1, Tuba town and in Beckel, La Trinidad town.
Local health officials blamed the ASF infestation in Benguet on “unscrupulous shippers” who used fake documents and lied about the sources of their hogs.
Diclas also ordered the implementation of “1-7-10 protocol” to contain the disease.
Under this, hogs within a 1-kilometer radius of the infected area are culled even if they are unaffected by the disease. Those within the 7-km radius are placed under surveillance while those within the 10-km radius will undergo mandatory monitoring.
