‘Reconsider pork ban from Negros,’ Cebu prov’l gov’t asked

The Negros Occidental Provincial Government is asking its counterpart in Cebu to reconsider its move banning pork from Negros.

Provincial Administrator, Atty. Rayfrando Diaz is urging Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia to reconsider her executive order banning the entry of pork products from Negros island.

Based on the executive order signed by Garcia, Cebu province will implement a temporary ban on the entry of live hogs, sows, piglets, boar semen, pork, and pork-related products from Negros island into Cebu from March 6 to April 5, 2023.

Garcia’s executive order was in response to the detection of the African Swine Fever (ASF) virus from blood samples of hogs in Carcar City, Cebu last March 1.

According to reports, the blood samples were taken from pigs in stockyards where those coming from Negros were mixed with those from other areas.

Garcia, however, did not specifically say as to which part of Negros.

In response, Diaz said the Provincial Government of Cebu should reconsider its banning as the Department of Agriculture had not classified Negros Occidental as an ASF-affected area.

Diaz said there are now growing concerns among local swine producers, especially those who are shipping their products to Eastern Visayas.

Negros Occidental has a P6 billion swine industry and is one of the top exporters of pork products in the country.

Ever since the appearance of ASF, Negros Occidental had already taken steps to protect its own swine industry by implementing a ban on the entry of pork products coming from ASF-affected areas. It has also remained ASF-free due to its strict implementation of biosecurity protocols.* (DGB)