BACOLOD CITY — The provincial government of Negros Occidental and the local government of Bacolod City issued a consolidated executive order creating a joint task force against African swine fever.

The directive — which was ordered by Negros Occidental Governor Eugenio Lacson and Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Benitez — aims to harmonize the policies of both the province and this capital city in prohibiting the entry of the sources of infection caused by the dreaded hog disease.

Negros Occidental, which has a P6-billion hog industry, is an ASF-free province.

"Our main port here is Bredco, which is part of Bacolod. It's very important that it should be guarded. That is where the role of the city comes into play. So we decided to come up a joint order," Lacson said.
Both Lacson and Benitez sit as task force co-chairpersons while the provincial veterinarian and the city veterinarian are concurrently designated to head the task force secretariat.