Iloilo ‘recovering well’ from ASF, guv says

By John Noel E. Herrera

Almost six months since the first case of African Swine Fever (ASF) was confirmed in Iloilo, Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. said the province is recovering well from the effects of the hog disease.

“We are recovering well sa ASF. Sa subong, I think, we are doing well. Ang gusto lang naton nga makadugang lang kita sa inventory naton,” Defensor said in a press conference on May 5, 2023.

Defensor noted that the provincial government is currently aiming to add more to the inventory of hogs in Iloilo as the province suffered a 45 percent decrease in pork supply.

Despite the decrease in supply, data from the Department of Agriculture (DA)-6 showed that the pork sufficiency level in the region is still at 304.69 percent as of the last quarter of 2022.

Defensor shared that local farmers were slowly getting back their confidence in backyard raising, which would slowly replenish the inventory of hogs, as the treatment of ASF in the province had already become endemic and some affected areas already recovered.

“May recovery stage na siya, gina-pakolekta ko pa. Perhaps we want a dispersal on areas where we are strong, but our farmers gaumpisa na sila liwat, nagabakal na sila sang idik, so, the confidence is there,” the governor said.

“Even right from the start, amu ni ang direction nga ginatan-aw ko on how it will proceed. There are no radical stops here, sige-sige lang gid na siya, until it becomes endemic, and it is becoming endemic, the treatment, not the disease itself,” he added.

Defensor, however, explained that the guidelines for full repopulation in identified positive areas are quite challenging, and noted that dealing with ASF should involve adjustments, both in security measures and the recovery process.

“Ang gina-usar ta di nga recovery, which I told you, it does not happen that way, based on experience. That’s why as we deal with ASF, we are adjusting because we cannot put it in a box. We have to make adjustments along the way.

Meanwhile, data from Iloilo Provincial Veterinary Office (IPVO) indicated that 25 towns have already been infected by ASF in the province, which includes Oton, San Miguel, Leganes, New Lucena, Alimodian, Santa Barbara, Mina, Barotac Nuevo, Barotac Viejo, Dumangas, Banate, Janiuay, Concepcion, Batad, Zarraga, San Dionisio, Dingle, Duenas, Badiangan, Pototan, San Enrique, Estancia, Ajuy, Balasan, and Maasin.

The IPVO, on the other hand, has distributed financial assistance to affected backyard farms and piggeries included in red and pink zones.

IPVO data showed that the provincial government had already processed a total of P7,015,000 in financial assistance that was distributed to the towns of Oton, San Miguel, Alimodian, Leganes, Mina, New Lucena, Sta. Barbara, Barotac Viejo, Barotac Nuevo, Pototan, Janiuay, San Dionisio, Batad, Dumangas, and Concepcion.