Ex-DA chief wants hog vaccination suspended

MANILA, Philippines — Former agriculture secretary Leonardo Montemayor yesterday urged the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to suspend the vaccination of hogs against African swine fever due to questions on the vaccine’s safety and efficacy.

Montemayor made the appeal as the BAI is preparing to conduct a controlled trial in Batangas on Sept. 2.

In a message to The STAR, Montemayor said the ASF vaccine that would be used in the trial did not pass through the National Committee on Biosafety of the Philippines.

“NCBP approval is needed before any product resulting from genetic modification can be released for field trials or commercial sales,” Montemayor said.

Earlier, Agriculture Assistant Secretary Arnel de Mesa said the vaccination of hogs would start on Sept. 2 and the 10,000 doses of vaccine acquired through emergency procurement have arrived in the country.

“Considering that the AVAC vaccine from Vietnam used a gene-altered virus, did it pass through the NCBP before it was issued a certificate of product registration by our Food and Drug Administration?” Montemayor asked.

He said the outbreaks in Batangas and in other areas in the country should not be used to justify the use of a vaccine without undergoing proper procedures.

“I would suggest a suspension of field trials or controlled rollouts using the AVAC or other vaccines until such time that major concerns and issues are properly addressed and resolved,” Montemayor said.

He said the government and other industry stakeholders should concentrate on culling infected pigs, indemnifying hog raisers, applying strict biocontrol measures and hog repopulation after the lapse of a reasonable period.