‘INEFFECTIVE BORDER CONTROL?’: Swine fever hits two more Iloilo towns

By John Noel E. Herrera

Two more towns in Iloilo province reported confirmed cases of African Swine Fever, according to the Iloilo Provincial Veterinary Office (IPVO).

IPVO head Dr. Darel Tabuada confirmed that ASF is now in Banate and Barotac Viejo after blood samples of pigs from the said towns tested positive for ASF.

Data from IPVO indicated that four samples from Brgy. Merced and Libertad, Banate, Iloilo and five samples from La Fortuna, Barotac Viejo were positive for ASF. The affected hogs were all depopulated or eliminated.

Tabuad added that the concerned towns already prepared to cordon off the area within the 500-meter radius of both index cases.

The town of Banate will also be tagged as an ASF “red zone” or infected area.

Under the Department of Agriculture’s (DA) Administrative Order 52, a specific municipality will be considered a “red zone” if two or more barangays were already affected by ASF.

If the case was logged in one area or site, only the area within the 500-meter radius of the index case will be classified as a “red zone.”

With the continuous spread of ASF cases in the province, questions were raised on the effectiveness of the border control and checkpoints set up by LGUs.

Tabuada earlier admitted that it is difficult to contain the spread of ASF as most backyard farms in the province struggle with their biosecurity measures.

“Continue ang spread sang ASF sa province and kita naton nga mabudlay sia i-contain. Ang aton border control daw indi gid amo na ka effective because sa kadamuon sang aton balantayan nga areas,” Tabuada earlier said.

He added that LGUs were also struggling with their resources and manpower as they tried to sustain the implementation of border control and checkpoints.

The PVO might also recommend the checkpoints be scaled down to the barangay level, particularly in ASF-affected barangays.

“Kon makaya nga i-sustan sang banwa, good. Pero kung hindi, ti gina-recommend na lang namon nga sa barangay level kung diin ang suspected cases and positive cases,” Tabuada said.

Iloilo Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. had previously said that the provincial government would not declare a state of calamity in the province amid the spread of ASF.

He added that the province is already slowly adjusting its approaches and responses to the ASF ever since Iloilo recorded its first confirmed case in Oton town.

“Ara kita gihapon sa present naton nga mapa, interms of the red and the pink, we continue to execute protocols, we continue to monitor kung paano siya mag-develop sa iban nga parte sang probinsya,” Defensor previously said.

Defensor also encouraged LGUs to strictly implement the minimum biosecurity standards for ASF through the province’s TaHuM (Tapak, Hugas, kag Matinlo nga Pagpakaon) campaign.

“If we do this, we can strengthen our backyard farmers because 80 percent sang aton nga pork industry are backyard raisers. This is not the solution to the problem, pero makabulig ini sang risgu naton moving forward,” Defensor said.

To date, there are already 11 towns in Iloilo province with confirmed cases of ASF, which include the towns of Oton, San Miguel, Leganes, Santa Barbara, Mina, New Lucena, Alimodian, Dumangas, Barotac Nuevo, Barotac Viejo, and Banate.

Aside from Iloilo province, the island of Guimaras and Iloilo City are also affected by the said hog disease in Western Visayas.