Pork, pork products from Negros now allowed to enter Cebu

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia has formally lifted the province’s entry ban on pork and pork-related products after she signed an executive order lifting their border controls late Tuesday night.

It can be recalled that last week Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson wrote a letter to Garcia, urging her to reopen her province’s borders in order to allow eastern Visayas-bound pork to pass through.

Hog raisers in Negros Occidental have sought the help of Lacson, with the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) in Negros Occidental reporting that hog farmers in the province could lose P18 million a week if Cebu continues its pork entry ban.

Garcia never replied to Lacson’s appeal, however, based on information released to various national media outlets, the ban was lifted following a consultative meeting with Cebu-based hog raisers, as well as officials coming from the Department of Agriculture (DA), and Department of Health (DOH) in relation to the African swine fever (ASF).

During the meeting, however, Garcia questioned some of the policies being imposed by the national line agencies in dealing with ASF.

“We will craft our own policies. We will define our own direction. Because, hello, this is the Province of Cebu!,” Garcia said.

Previously, Garcia issued an executive order banning the entry of pork and pork-related products after a hog in the province’s Carcar City tested positive for ASF.

The ASF-positive pig allegedly mingled with a shipment of hogs coming from Negros island, even though both Negros Occidental and Negros Oriental remain ASF-free.

Since then, the DA announced that ASF had already been detected in other areas such as its capital Cebu City, Bogo City, and the towns of Liloan, Sibonga, and Tuburan.* (BGD)