⁩The allocation of P1.5 billion by the House of Representatives to vaccinate local hogs is a welcome development, but industry leaders on Monday said that ending the proliferation of the African swine fever or ASF would require additional cost.

Congressman Nick Briones, a representative of AGAP Partylist and chairman of the industry group Pork Producers Federation of the Philippines or Pro-Pork, pointed out that developing an effective local vaccine will be costly.

"That is the best solution: Have an effective vaccine (against ASF). But right now, nothing has been tested on sows and breeders… They are the ones that produce pigs," Briones said.

At present, the available vaccine from Vietnam has been tested only on starters and not on fatteners, which are the ones sold in the market.

Danilo Fausto, president of the umbrella organization Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food Inc., said once the efficacy of the ASF vaccine that Vietnam is offering is proven, the government should make it available to backyard raisers to help revive the industry.

"The P1.5 billion isn't enough. But it could be used for pump-priming as we wait for the vaccine from Vietnam," Fausto said.

The small committee of the HOR Committee on Appropriations, tasked to remove confidential funds, has decided to channel P1.5 billion to support a nationwide ASF vaccine drive.

Meantime, Agriculture Undersecretary for Livestock Deogracias Victor Sevillano said that until a vaccine is proven effective, the agency's focus is to promote biosecurity protocols to contain the spread of the virus.

"We need the cooperation of LGUs for the implementation of the protocols that we will implement to stop the spread of ASF," Sevillano said.

Sevillano said prevention and biosecurity practices are implemented strictly since it remains unclear what the source and the carriers of ASF are.

The ASF virus has forced pig farmers to cull millions of swine over the past few years and nearly wiped out the ranks of backyard raisers who used to account for 40 percent of production.

Before ASF hit the Philippines in 2019, the pig population of the country was estimated at around 13 million heads. The population has gone down to around 10 million, with imported pork filling the gap.