PRESIDENT Duterte has approved a proposal to increase the indemnification to backyard raisers whose hogs were culled due to African swine fever (ASF)—to P5,000 from P3,000 per pig, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said.
In a bulletin released on Sunday, the DA said Duterte approved the department’s recommendation to increase the indemnification during the Cabinet meeting last Friday.
“This means previous recipients will receive an additional P2,000 per culled pig,” it added. The DA said the President also approved other measures to contain and prevent the spread of ASF to areas in Luzon.
Among the measures are the imposition of “lock-down” procedures in the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga, which includes cordoning off validated ASF-infected areas, the DA said.
This, the DA noted, would pave the way for the “easier movement control of pigs and pork products.”
In yet another move to tighten controls, the DA will now also pursue the apprehension and filing of charges against hog raisers and traders caught selling, buying and transporting live hogs, as well as those slaughtering ASF-infected pigs and selling ASF-tainted pork products.
“We must step up our surveillance and monitoring of transport of live pigs as well as pork products,” the DA said.
The ASF is a fatal disease to hogs with a mortality of up to 100 percent, with no known vaccine yet, and no cure. However, the ASF poses no threat to human health.
Last week, the DA disclosed that the number of pigs infected with ASF in the Philippines has reached 12,000 after two more new outbreaks were confirmed in Quezon City.
Task Force
The DA Crisis Management Task Force on Swine said ASF has spread to over 20 barangays in Rizal, Bulacan, Pampanga and Quezon City.
The task force said the number of ASF-positive hogs is only one third of the total depopulated pigs or about 36,000 heads in all ground zeroes, or within the 1-kilometer quarantine zones.
To date the DA has named at least 17 barangays affected by ASF: Rodriguez, Rizal (Barangays San Isidro, San Jose, Macabud, Geronimo, San Rafael, Mascap, San Mateo Slaughterhouse), Quezon City (Barangays Bagong Silangan, Payatas, Tatalon, Pasong Tamo, Commonwealth and Tandang Sora), Antipolo (Barangays Cupang and another unidentified area), Barangay Mapandan, Pangasinan, and Brgy. Pritil, Guiguinto, Bulacan.
The DA added that it has deployed 100 additional staff to support laboratory operations and airport and checkpoint inspections.
Image credits: Nonoy Lacza
1 comment
Hi Sir,
Paano naman po kaya mapabilis ang release ng compensation sa culled pigs?
Paano po ang process at gaano katagal and turn around time?
At saka po yung P30K assistance, wala pa pong malinaw kelan magstart at paano mag-avail.