At least six villages in Quezon City have been affected by the African swine fever while local government units of Ilocos Sur and Benguet banned the entry of swine and processed meat from Quezon.
The ban was reported as Quezon Provincial Veterinarian Flomella Cagiela said the province of Quezon was ASF-free.
In the meantime, the Philippine Airlines assured passengers that meat dishes served aboard its flights were not contaminated with ASF, saying the meat being served were safe for human consumption.
“PAL assures that pork meat dishes loaded and served in-flight are free of ASF. Food wastes are not being used as swine swill feed,” PAL said in a statement.
The country’s flag carrier said leftover food is used as compost instead of animal feed. It is collected and fermented for use as feed for worm culture and compost.
Last month, the Department of Agriculture confirmed the presence of African swine fever in the Philippines, but assured the public there was no epidemic and vouched for the safety of pork products in the country.
Authorities suspected that the swine fever cases in the Philippines stemmed from pigs being fed swill, leftover food scraps from hotels and restaurants.
The entry of ASF in select areas prompted the government to cull thousands of hogs in Central Luzon.
It was reported that swill feeding or the use of food wastes from airlines, sea vessels, hotels, restaurants and public markets as feed, was one of the potential causes for the entry and spread of the disease.
Meanwhile, the Makati Veterinary Services Office assured its residents and the public that meat products being sold in the city are safe and free from ASF.
“The Makati Veterinary Services Office has been continuously conducting meat safety inspections to ensure the full compliance of establishments with safety standards prescribed by the Meat Inspection Code of the Philippines,” said Makati Veterinary Services Office chief Dr. Ma. Katherina Mangahas, assuring the public that the outbreak in Bulacan and Rizal has not reached the city.
The city official also said that all establishments selling locally-slaughtered meat are required to secure a Certificate of Meat Inspection from the VSO or from the National Meat Inspection Service to ensure that meats sold had undergone standard slaughter procedures and are safe for human consumption.
For imported meat products, the NMIS issues said certification.
To make sure that the Makati stays ASF-free, Mangahas called on residents and other consumers, including those who eat at restaurants or other food establishments, to be vigilant and immediately report any suspicious products or irregularities to the VSO to help the city government keep out ASF-infected and mishandled meat products from the city.
Quezon City Mayor Joy Belmonte said the problem of ASF had now become a “bit of crisis.”
This, after pigs from barangays Bagong Silangan, Payatas, Tatalon and Pasong Tamo’s backyard hog raisers in Roxas and Tandang Sora have also been contaminated by the ASF virus.
Payatas initially reported a hog population of 1,500 to 2,000, a stark contrast to the actual number of 3,065 culled pigs.
According to the city mayor, the total number of pigs in the area could reach 5,000.
“We are underestimating the number of pigs and the number of hog raisers so now we have reached a bit of a crisis,” she told the GMA News in an interview heard nationwide.
She ordered the creation of a validation team composed of the engineering department for the identification of burial sites for hogs, health department, veterinary department to lead in the culling of hogs, and barangay coordination and operations department.
“In Barangay Tandang Sora, the city government has culled one affected piggery. Out of the 32 pigs [there], 12 piglets have died,” Cabel told the Manila Standard.
In Roxas, 17 pigs were culled, while Payatas still had the biggest number of culled pigs at 3,065, she said.
The city government was able to cull 985 pigs, 303 pigs in Pasong Tamo and 84 in Tatalon, she added.
“Tatalon brought meat from Payatas and incorporated swill (food),” she said.
The pigs in Roxas were killed since the village was within the one-kilometers radius from ground zero, she pointed out.
Hogs in Payatas and Bagong Silangan had been affected by ASF because of their proximity to Rodriguez, Rizal, Cabel said.
In Quezon, with the assistance of Provincial Administrator Roberto Gajo and Provincial Attorney Geof Lyn San Agustin, Caguicla coordinated with the provincial veterinarians of the two Northern Luzon provinces to inform them that Quezon has no recorded ASF case.
Afterward, Ilocos Sur and Benguet issued official statements clarifying Quezon should not be included in the advisory.
Caguicla admitted that some swine and hog farmers, even in Quezon, had suffered losses due to people’s fear of buying pork amid the ASF scare.
“Don’t be afraid of eating pork, as long as it’s inspected by your local meat inspector authorities, they are safe,” Caguicla said.
Gajo admitted that the swine industry has suffered a negative impact due to the ASF issue. He said aside from the drastic downfall in the market price of pork, the outflow of pork and other processed meat products from Quezon was also adversely affected.
Governor Danilo Suarez has earlier issued Executive Order 35 directing all municipal and city mayors in the province to assist the provincial and municipal veterinarians in mounting measures to prevent ASF from entering the province.
Suarez also issued EO 43-A temporarily banning the entry of pork and other processed meat products from places with recorded ASF cases.
To drive home their claim that Quezon remains ASF free, Caguicla and Gajo led the sampling of lechon or roasted pig in a boodle fight for provincial officials and employees also on Monday. With PNA