The city government here has temporarily banned the entry of live pigs, pork, and pork by-products from Luzon and certain countries to protect its hog industry from the threat of African swine fever (ASF).

On Tuesday, Mayor Evelio Leonardia issued Executive Order No. 29 enforcing a 90-day ban in support of the earlier action of the Negros Occidental provincial government.

“There is an urgent need to adopt preventive measures to prevent an ASF virus outbreak in the city,” Leonardia said.

Bacolod is the capital city of Negros Occidental, the top backyard swine producer in the Philippines, which has a PHP6-billion hog industry.

Both the city and the province remain ASF-free just like the rest of Visayas and Mindanao.

In Bacolod, the ban covers live pigs, hog carcass, pork, pork products and pork by-products originating from, and or processed in Luzon and countries affected by ASF, including China, Vietnam, Mongolia, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, North Korea, Russia, Hungary, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Belgium, Moldova, Latvia, South Africa, Poland, Zambia, and Romania.

City Agriculturist Goldwyn Nifras, vice-chair of Bacolod ASF Task Force, said on Wednesday he has been meeting with the hog raisers in the city to discuss their concerns on the ASF threat.

Nifras added that the City Agriculture Office is also closely coordinating with the Negros Occidental Provincial Task Force on ASF.

Last September 16, Leonardia issued a directive creating the Task Force ASF to ensure this city’s protection against the highly contagious animal disease.

“There is a need to adopt preventive measures to prevent economic loss and protect the swine industry of the city,” the mayor said in the Executive Order No. 27.

Leonardia pointed out the need to strengthen the monitoring and inspection to prevent an outbreak in the city & to effectively address and devise measures to ensure the city’s protection against ASF.

Last month, the Department of Agriculture officially confirmed cases of ASF in Rizal and Bulacan. (PNA)