Guv no plan yet to declare state of calamity amidst hog deaths

As more barangays in the province continue to record hog deaths, Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson is still not keen to declare a state of calamity.

Instead, Lacson advised hog raisers in the province “to sell early while their animals are still healthy and should not wait for the desired weight.”

The governor is optimistic that the pig deaths do not reach the level where a state of calamity will have to be declared.

Such a declaration would probably be made if 50 percent of the province’s hog population is hit, Lacson said.

“It’s only June and every year we get hit by typhoons so it is not prudent to immediately tap the province’s calamity funds,” he pointed out.

As of June 12, Negros Occidental logged 12,355 hog deaths due to various pig illnesses.

The deaths resulted in P139,041,525 in losses and the number of hog raisers affected reached 2,342.

Lacson said Negros Occidental has not been declared an ASF red zone since only a few areas have ASF positive cases.

The governor said while there are pig deaths on a daily basis, the number per day has gone down.

It is not one singular disease that is the cause of pig deaths, hog cholera is still prevalent in most cases, Lacson said.

The pig deaths are less than 10 percent of the total hog population of the province, according to a report by the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO).

He pointed out that the provincial government is implementing the Bureau of Animal Industry protocols in case of pig mortality.

Lacson said commercial hog raisers are still shipping pigs out of the province but the prices have gone down.

The governor is encouraging hog raisers to sell early.

They should also not increase their hog population so the spread of the diseases can be placed under control, the governor said.

On Monday, Silay became the fourth local government unit in Negros Occidental with ASF positive cases.

ASF positive pigs had also been detected in Bacolod and Victorias cities and Pulupandan town earlier.

The number of local government units in Negros Occidental hit with pig deaths from various diseases also rose to 17 with the addition of Himamaylan City with 19 pig deaths.*