Mayor says closing farms can affect poultry business

CEBU, Philippines - Asturias Mayor Alan Adlawan does not agree closing the poultry farms suspected of attracting swarms of flies that have reportedly inconvenienced residents of a barangay in the town.

Adlawan said closing the farms down would inconvenience many consumers from outside of Asturias who rely on the farms for poultry products.

“We cannot stop sa poultry kay asa man tag manok, mag-import na sad ta? Right now, we are supplying 700,000 birds every 50 days and we are supplying the City of Cebu,” Adlawan said.

He said the farms should not be blamed solely for the “proliferation of the flies” because the residents, too, have reportedly contributed to the problem.

“Ang (Barangay) Langub mao man ni nag-complain og maayo… angay na sad oy nga naana sad tay kasilyas… magbuhi og baboy pataka lang… Gitagaan na bitaw ni sila ni Gwen sa una og toilet bowl, kabilya ug semento wa man tukora,” he said.

In a recent survey commissioned by the barangay council, it turned out that 40-60 houses in the barangay do not have their own toilets, said Langub Barangay Captain Paul Tuburan.

Tuburan said he, too, is alarmed of the swarms of flies during the third week of September, prompting him and the council to take immediate action.

He said he visited the poultry farm and saw that it was clean and there were no flies there at that time.

This observation was also shared by Rodulfo Flora, sanitary inspector, who suggested that the farm owners maintain the same especially during harvest season.

Is it during this season that the flies come in swarms as claimed by some of the residents.

Adlawan said he did not actually see the flies during harvest season but he assured the residents that the problem can be addressed.

Tuburan said he coordinated with the owner of the farm who gave them fly traps to help control the flies. This reportedly has been “effective.” Observation is still ongoing.

Adlawan, on the other hand, said the problem is not new to the residents. In fact, they reportedly faced the same problem last year and found a solution, both chemical and mechanical.

“I prefer mechanical solutions, sama anang mga air curtain, i-seal gyud ang poultry farm aron dili gyud makasulod kay once makasulod (ang langaw) kusog kaayo manganak sa sulod,” he said.

He added that some of the poultry farm owners prefer chemical solution but the chemicals might affect the health of the consumers who are mostly from Cebu City.

He said the Municipal Environment and Natural Resources Officer visited the different poultry farms in Asturias to check and assess the situation yesterday.  (FREEMAN)