54 Western Visayas LGUs exit ASF red zone

By Mariela Angella Oladive

ILOILO CITY — Fifty-four local government units (LGUs) in Western Visayas have been reclassified out of the red zone under the government’s African swine fever (ASF) zoning system, according to data released by the National ASF Prevention and Control Program (NASFPC) on Wednesday, Aug. 26.

Of the 54 LGUs, 45 were upgraded from red (infected) to pink (buffer) zone, while nine moved directly from red to yellow (surveillance) zone, based on the program’s list dated Aug. 21.

Among the five provinces, Iloilo had the most upgraded LGUs at 20, all of which moved from red to pink.

These are Ajuy, Banate, Barotac Viejo, Batad, Concepcion, Dingle, Dumangas, Estancia, Iloilo City, Janiuay, Lambunao, Leganes, Mina, New Lucena, Oton, San Enrique, San Joaquin, San Miguel, Santa Barbara, and Zarraga.

Aklan followed with 17 upgraded LGUs.

Altavas, Ibajay, Kalibo, Lezo, Libacao, Makato, Malay, Numancia, and Tangalan moved to pink, while Balete, Banga, Batan, Buruanga, Madalag, Malinao, Nabas, and New Washington moved directly to yellow.

In Capiz, 11 municipalities — Cuartero, Dao, Dumalag, Dumarao, Ma-ayon, Mambusao, Pilar, Pontevedra, President Roxas, Sigma, and Tapaz — were upgraded to pink.

Three Antique municipalities — Belison, Hamtic, and Sibalom — also moved to pink, while San Jose de Buenavista advanced to yellow.

In Guimaras, Buenavista and Jordan were upgraded from red to pink.

Under the national zoning and movement plan, a pink zone covers buffer areas next to infected localities that have recorded no active cases for a set period.

A yellow zone covers surveillance areas near buffer zones where the virus has not been detected but where the risk of introduction remains high.

The classification matters commercially because it determines how tightly an LGU is restricted in moving live hogs, pork products, and swine genetic materials, with red-zone areas subject to the strictest quarantine and culling rules.

The Bureau of Animal Industry, an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture, decides zoning categories after an LGU records a stretch without new cases, tests its swine population, and submits documentary requirements through provincial and regional agriculture offices.

The reclassification follows a difficult stretch for the regional hog sector, which in June saw the provincial governments of Aklan and Guimaras impose temporary bans on the entry, transit, and transport of live swine, pork products, and swine genetic materials from ASF-affected areas, including Capiz, Iloilo, and the Negros Island Region.

African swine fever is a highly contagious viral disease of domestic and wild pigs that carries a fatality rate approaching 100 percent, has no commercially available cure, and does not infect humans.

Western Visayas is composed of five provinces — Aklan, Antique, Capiz, Guimaras, and Iloilo — following the transfer of Negros Occidental to the Negros Island Region.