Agriculture Secretary William Dar on Wednesday raised concern that the pigs affected by the African swine fever from a backyard farm in Bulacan could have been brought to some other areas.
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He made the statement even as an official said at least three pigs had been found dumped in a creek in Bagong Silangan village, Quezon City.
Supt. Joel Villanueva, Quezon City Police District Station 5 commander, said a 51-year-old resident reported the presence of three dead pigs at the creek around 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday
“I suppose these pigs have been dead for about three days. They were already decomposing when found,” he told the Manila Standard.
In ANC’s Early Edition news, Dar said the Department of Agriculture was monitoring the areas where the hogs from Guiguinto could have been taken.
“We are mapping out where these pigs have been redistributed or transported again from Guiguinto, Bulacan,” he said.
“That’s where we are monitoring, where there would be abnormal deaths of pigs in these areas.”
Dar said commercial pig farms had not been spared from the agency’s monitoring.
Last Monday, He spearheaded a boodle fight to show that pork was safe for human consumption.
He confirmed that the ASF cases in the country had already been contained by the government.
Laboratory tests from the United Kingdom showed that 14 of the 20 samples taken from the backyard pig farms in Guiguinto and two municipalities in Rizal had tested positive for ASF.
He said pork was safe to eat provided it bore the seal of the National Meat Inspection Commission.
READ: Consumers, pork traders uneasy amid ASF scare
READ: Don’t worry despite swine fever—Dar
