Soldiers to help cull thousands of fowls amid bird flu outbreak

Soldiers from the Northern Luzon Command (Nolcom) are set for a different kind of battle, this time to help in clearing operations against the avian flu virus.

A hundred soldiers will be initially deployed to Pampanga on Thursday, Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) public affairs chief Col. Edgard Arevalo said in a briefing on Wednesday.

“Nolcom received a warning order from General Headquarters to provide the number of personnel to help the Department of Agriculture in the situation we are having in Pampanga,” he said.

While the DA has reportedly requested for 400 military personnel to augment in the clearing operations, Arevalo said they don’t have to deploy those numbers right away.

“Di kelangan buuin agad ‘yung 400 ang importante makapag respond the soonest possible time. Ang 400 ay target na i-generate but it doesn’t mean we have to gather that big number,” he said.

(We don’t have to send 400 personnel at once—the important thing is for us to respond the soonest possible time. They are targeting to generate 400 personnel, but it does not mean that we have to gather that big number.)

READ: DA to cull 200K fowls as PH reports first case of avian flu

Arevalo said the total number of soldiers who will be deployed will be known later on.

“They will be provided necessary briefing para malaman exactly ang role na gagampanan nila (so they will know the roles they will play),” he said.

Officials earlier said that the culling of infected chickens have been delayed to lack of personnel and dry soil pits, prompting the Malacanang to suggest that soldiers could be called in for help. IDL