TACLOBAN CITY – The mayor of Calbiga town in Samar province has issued an executive order (EO) outlining actions that barangays must undertake to address the problem of African Swine Fever (ASF) that hit their town.
Mayor Red Nacario issued EO Number 19 on Tuesday (June 4) following the confirmation of an ASF case from one of the two blood samples taken by the Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO) from two separate backyard piggeries in Barangay Calingonan.
The samples were sent for laboratory examination at the regional office of the Bureau of Animal Industry on May 29 and one tested positive for the ASF virus.
Under the EO, villages without positive ASF cases are mandated to establish a “barangay border control” supervised by village officials and tanods, with guidance and assistance from the MAO.
The “Bantay ASF” will monitor and regulate the entry of pigs, pork, and pork-based products from villages with suspected and positive cases, as well as the exit of sick animals.
The EO also mandates that all pigs in ASF-affected villages must be culled and disposed of properly, under the supervision of the Provincial Veterinarian Office and MAO, with assistance from the Municipal Police Station, Bureau of Fire Protection, and the Municipal Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office.
Areas within a one-kilometer radius of the positive case will be placed under strict quarantine. In areas with suspected ASF infections, blood samples from pigs must be extracted for laboratory examination, and the pigs must be quarantined until results are released.
Healthy pigs outside the 500-meter radius may be slaughtered and sold at the public market, provided they have the appropriate documentation, such as certification from the village chairman.
Agricultural extension workers on livestock and village officials are ordered to conduct active surveillance for unusual pig mortalities and immediately report them to the MAO for investigation and blood sampling for laboratory tests.
The EO also prohibits the entry of private feed technicians into any village while the locality is affected by ASF.
“All private feed technicians shall not enter any piggeries and render technical health services on livestock in the different barangays of the municipality until such time that the location is declared ASF-free,” the EO states.
Piggery owners affected by the ASF problem are ordered to conduct daily disinfection activities for 30 days. (ROEL T. AMAZONA)
