Advisory vs pork products from SG

The Department of Agriculture (DA) has suspended the entry of pork products from Singapore after the island nation reported cases of African swine fever. The DA said that while the Philippines does not import pork products from Singapore, the agency wanted to prevent the entry of infected products carried by hand. The DA immediately suspended the processing, evaluation of the application and issuance of sanitary and phytosanitary import clearances for pork imports from Singapore and warned that it would seize all shipments of such products at all major ports of entry. The Philippines is still in the thick of an ongoing battle against the animal disease which is active in seven regions, 12 provinces, 42 municipalities and 75 barangays as of Feb. 2. Affected regions are Cagayan Valley, Central Luzon, Bicol Region, Western Visayas, Eastern Visayas, Zamboanga Peninsula and Caraga Administrative Region. —JORDEENE B. LAGARE