Cebu mulls indefinite ban on pork over ASF

MANILA, Philippines — The provincial government of Cebu is planning to indefinitely extend a ban it imposed on pork and pork products due to the continuous spread of the African swine fever (ASF).

Cebu Gov. Gwen Garcia said the current ban on the entry of pork products to the province would likely be extended again.

“The ban is extended until June 30, but I am looking at extending it indefinitely again in light of what is happening now,” Garcia told The STAR over the weekend.

“Obviously, it has not been contained in Luzon like what the government has said. Apparently, it is spreading,” she added, referring to the ASF.

Last week, the Department of Agriculture (DA) confirmed the ASF has reached Davao Occidental.

Cebu was among the first to impose a ban on pork and other pork products since the outbreak was reported in August.

It has not lifted the ban since despite orders from the Department of the Interior and Local Government.

“Had we given in at the time with three Cabinet secretaries calling me to lift the ban, we would have been probably infected with ASF now,” Garcia said.

“My priority is to protect my backyard hog raisers and the P11-billion hog industry of Cebu,” she added.

Garcia said she has yet to see the zoning plan prepared by the DA, which was ordered by President Duterte last week.

The zoning plan is expected to clearly state the status of each area and the corresponding movements allowed.

“We will study that, but we will act accordingly. We are going to take decisions in accordance with what we believe is the best direction to continue protecting Cebu from ASF,” Garcia said.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar did not comment on Cebu’s plan to indefinitely extend the pork ban.

Meanwhile, Western Visayas is taking additional measures to prevent the entry of ASF in the region following the outbreaks in Mindanao.

The provinces of Aklan and Negros Occidental ordered a ban on pork and pork products from Mindanao, particularly from Davao Region.

Western Visayas is more than 200 percent self-sufficient should the government opt for the total lockdown of pork and pork products from outside the region.

“As of today, we are still ASF-free. We don’t want to compromise our about P10-billion hog industry,” Remelyn Recoter, chief of Western Visayas committee for animal disease control and emergency, said.