Iloilo seeks shield vs ASF

KAPITOLYO KANG YRONG-YRONG (Feb. 18, 2021) —Iloilo Province (pop. 1.8 million) seeks to shield itself from the African Swine Fever (ASF) by rushing an ordinance banning live hogs, frozen hog meat and pork products to include processed and canned pork from regions where the viral disease is raging — Luzon, Mindanao, Eastern Visayas and the islands of Mindoro and Masbate.


Proposed Provincial Ordinance No. 2021-16, authored by SP Matt P. Palabrica, also requires swine transport vans and trucks from entering Iloilo sans certificate of disinfection from ports of origin.


The measure compliments requisites already en place, that is, department administrative orders (DAO) issued bus the Department of Health (DOH), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Department of Agriculture (DA) that the Coast Guard, Marina and the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) enforce in ports in the country.


Last month, provincial veterinarian Darrel Tabuada granted permits to transport 21,000 head of hogs from the Port of Dumangas, Iloilo last month to Manila, the highest since the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country in 2020. 


Tabuada has no figure for the year but said that Iloilo’s stock of hogs averaged 400,000 head per survey. The population statistics changes as a sow gives birth every three months and the three to four month-old  juveniles are sent to the slaughter house or a shipped to Luzon when they weigh 80 to 100 kilos.


Pork prices went down their lowest in Iloilo as roadside stalls sold it at P130 per kilo. The last quarter of 2019 as Iloilo’s shipment to Manila picked up to 10,000 monthly, prices also rose to P180 - P200 in public markets. 


Buyers set hog live weight of hogs from Iloilo at P120 - P130 a kilo upon reaching Manila. 


Western Visayas comprising the provinces of Negros Occidental, Iloilo, Guimaras, Cadiz, Aklan and Antique are still ASF-free. Negros Occidental and Antique already passed their respective ordinance shielding themselves from ASF. The rest in the region still operate on executive orders of their governors implementing national laws but are toothless in imposing criminal penalties.


SP Nolito Cajilig, chair of the committee on agriculture, said he will be sponsoring resolution urging other provinces and Iloilo City, a major port of entry, to enact a similar legislation.


(Photos here show the public hearing today to sharpen the provision of the proposed ordinance, presided by SP Nolito Cajilig, chair of the committee on agriculture. Updates and pictures to follow.)

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