MARCOS URGED TO DECLARE NATIONAL STATE OF CALAMITY AMID ASF SPREAD

PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. was urged to  declare a national state of calamity amid the spread of African swine fever (ASF) in the country.

Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines (PPFP) chairman and AGAP party-list Rep. Nicanor Briones said the declaration of a state of calamity nationwide is necessary for the government to order a mass vaccination of hogs to contain the ASF outbreak.

Briones said the President could tap the calamity fund to finance the procurement of ASF vaccines.

According to Briones, the plan of the Department of Agriculture (DA) to buy 10,000 doses of ASF vaccine is not enough to cover all the hogs in Batangas alone.

He said pork producers already lost P150 billion since the outbreak of ASF in 2019 and there is now a resurgence of the outbreak.

Briones reiterated that it is important to allocate funds for the vaccination of all the hogs.

The lawmaker warned that pork supply in Metro Manila would be affected if the spread of ASF in the province persists.

He said Batangas is the main supplier of hogs.

DA spokesman Arnel de Mesa said the spread of ASF to eight areas in Batangas is threatening more than one million hogs in the province.

He said the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) and local government units are closely working together to contain the spread of the disease.

“All infected animals have to be disposed of properly,” De Mesa said.

The DA official also confirmed that ASF has spread to 251 barangays nationwide, an increase from the 150 barangays earlier reported to be affected.

The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI)  reported  that 150 barangays in 45 towns nationwide are under red zones or those with active ASF cases.

These include the 10 affected barangays in Lobo, two in Lian, and one in Lipa City in Batangas.

A total of 476 cities and municipalities in the country have been upgraded to pink zones or buffer areas adjacent to infected zones.

The DA plans to launch the government-controlled vaccinations in red and pink zones using Vietnam’s AVAC live vaccines in the third quarter of the year.

The Department has allocated P350 million to procure 600,000 doses of ASF vaccines.

It was learned that the cost of ASF Vietnam vaccine is estimated at about P600 per dose.