TACLOBAN CITY– A month-long ‘pork holiday’ has been imposed in Silago town, Southern Leyte, effective December 27.
The imposition of the pork holiday is to ensure that the African Fever Swine (ASF) that has affected several of its barangays could be contained, Mayor Lemuel Honor said.
Honor issued Executive Order Number 41 on December 27, declaring the pork holiday, particularly in the villages of Katipunan, Imelda, Hingatugan, Salvacion, Laguma, Tubaon, Tubod, Poblacion District 1, Poblacion District 2, Puntana, and part of Sudmon.
The pork holiday will last for the next 30 days, the order said.
As part of the measure to contain further spread of the ASF in the town, slaughtering of hogs and selling of pork, and other pork products from the affected barangays is strictly prohibited, the order said.
It also said that the entry and exit of live hogs is provided within the next 30 days. “Only the meat from ASF-free barangays is allowed to enter and supply the market needs of the affected barangays,” the order added.
It was learned that the ASF in the town was first detected in Barangay Tubod and Salvacion, and Puntana involving nine pigs in total were tested positive based on the blood samples undertaken by the veterinary laboratory division of the Department of Agriculture taken on December 1.
Mayor Honor said that since then, there were about 60 pigs confirmed ASF cases from the affected barangays.
“But there were also report of ASF-infected pigs which were not reported by the owners,” he said in a private message interview.
According to Honor, those who will not obey the order face confiscation of their swine which would be killed and buried to ensure that the virus would not further spread.
Honor said that they have yet to confirm how the ASF in their town started.
(JOEY A. GABIETA/ROEL T. AMAZONA)
