RITUAL ANIMAL Native pigs are important features of community feasts in the Cordillera, where meat is shared by villagers after rituals. The government, however, has started monitoring backyard pig farms in the region to prevent the spread of the African swine fever. —KARLSTON LAPNITEN
SAN PEDRO CITY, Laguna, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) is making available funds worth millions of pesos for affected hog raisers, as more areas continue to report fresh outbreaks of the African swine fever (ASF).
In Calabarzon region (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal and Quezon), the towns of Mulanay and San Narciso, both in Quezon province, were recently identified as “infected” by the viral swine disease that had wiped out thousands of hogs since the virus first emerged in the country in July last year.
Last week, Agriculture Secretary William Dar led the distribution of farm tools and poultry worth P32 million to affected hog raisers at Barangay Macabud in Rodriguez, Rizal, where the first case of the swine disease was reported last year.
Holiday demand
On Monday, Arnel de Mesa, DA director in Calabarzon, said at least 300 pigs from Quezon had been culled since ASF cases were reported in mid-January.
He said around 20,000 pigs had been killed across the region, including those from the earlier outbreaks in Rizal and Cavite.
Government officials earlier said the ASF, believed to have come from tainted food imported from China, was tapering down.
“[But] we think [the resurgence] was during the [Christmas] holidays when the demand [for pork products] went back up,” De Mesa said.
Bulacan source
In the case of Quezon, DA officials traced the virus to a live pig that a farmer had bought from Bulacan province and transported to his hometown in Mulanay.
Towns along the 150-kilometer Maharlika Highway in Quezon are in full alert and have established their respective checkpoints to prevent the spread of ASF, according to Dr. Flomella Caguicla, Quezon provincial veterinarian.
She said local officials have been monitoring vehicles carrying live pigs and other animals, feed and raw materials.
Maharlika Highway, the gateway to Bicol region, runs from the Quezon-Laguna boundary in Tiaong town to the Quezon-Bicol boundary in Calauag town.
Caguicla said they had been monitoring the local hog industry but had yet to confirm cases of ASF.In Camarines Sur province, the DA’s regional quick response team for animal disease and emergencies said that Magarao town might be added to the list of ASF-affected areas alongside the towns of Bombon and Calabanga.
Emilia Bordado, DA Bicol spokesperson, said a number of backyard pigs reportedly died due to the virus in Barangay Sta. Lucia, Sto. Tomas, San Miguel, San Pantaleon and Sta. Rosa in Magarao.
The three affected neighboring towns in Camarines Sur are located within the 1-7-10 kilometer radius with Bombon town serving as the “ground zero” point of reference of the ASF protocol, Bordado said.
Bombon is 15 km from Calabanga, 7 km from Magarao and 23 km from Naga City, the business center of Camarines Sur.
In Calabanga, the DA sent a team to cull close to 100 pigs, after 12 dead pigs were tested positive for ASF.
New Davao casesIn Davao City, new cases of ASF infection were reported in a village that would require culling of more pigs there.
Noel Provido, DA spokesperson in Davao region, said 98 percent of 16,062 hogs originally targeted for culling had already been killed in Don Marcelino, Malita and Jose Abad Santos towns in Davao Occidental province; Sulop town in Davao del Sur province; and Calinan district in Davao City.
But new cases in Barangay Inayangan, also in Davao City, which shares a border with Barangay Lamanan, were added to 900 hogs to be culled in the region this week to contain the outbreak.
Of 16,062 hogs initially targeted for culling in Davao region, 6,624 were from Don Marcelino, the epicenter of the outbreak, 4,448 from Malita and 1,490 from Jose Abad Santos.
A total of 1,040 pigs were also culled in two villages in Sulop. In nearby Kiblawan town, Ma¬yor Carl Jason Rama urged hog raisers in 30 villages to slaughter their pigs as soon as possible and sell these in the local market before ASF infection could take hold in the town.
Ifugao situation
In Ifugao province, the blood samples from several dead pigs at Barangay Balawis in Banaue town were tested positive for ASF.
Gov. Jerry Dalipog said they had banned live pigs and frozen pork products since last week after ASF contamination was confirmed in some parts of the Cordillera.
Kalinga and Benguet provin¬ces had reported ASF cases in some of the backyard piggeries there.—Reports from Maricar Cinco, Delfin Mallari Jr., Mar Arguelles, Orlando Dinoy and Kimberlie Quitasol