Hogs, poultry banned Kalinga entry

BAGUIO CITY — The Provincial Government of Kalinga issued an Executive Order (EO) for a temporary ban on the entry of hogs, poultry and also non-poultry, their products and by-products in the province.

The order was to prevent the bringing of the said products from provinces with positive cases of African swine fever (ASF) and Avian Influenza (AI) Virus into the province of Kalinga. The issuance was prompted by recent reports of the Department of Agriculture (DA) through the Bureau of Animal Industry-Animal Disease Diagnosis and Reference Laboratory (BAI-ADDRL) on the confirmed cases of ASF and AI infections in many provinces of the country.

In the reports of the DA, ASF cases were confirmed in the provinces of La Union, Bulacan, Tarlac, Batangas, Laguna, Quezon, Rizal, Marinduque, Occidental and Oriental Mindoro, Camarines Sur, Catanduanes, Aklan, Cebu, Negros Oriental, Zamboanga del Sur, North Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, Agusan del Sur, Surigao del Norte, Surigao del Sur and Basilan as of 8 August 2024. The DA also reported ASF cases from July to August of this year in the provinces of Abra, Cagayan, Isabela and Nueva Vizcaya.

The BAI-ADDRL on 9 August 2024 reported cases of AI infections in the municipalities of Candaba and Mexico of Pampanga, municipality of La Trinidad in Benguet and municipalities of San Antonio and Talavera in Nueva Ecija.

Kalinga Governor James Edduba in the EO stated that it is imperative to employ immediate measures to prevent the spread of animal diseases like ASF and AI to safeguard the livelihoods of hog and poultry raisers and animal health of swine and poultry industry in the province.

The governor also stated in the event that same diseases are detected in other areas, a temporary ban on the hog and poultry products and by-products coming from them will also be imposed even without an issuance of another EO.

The provincial government through the EO then enjoined the Philippine National Police, the DA, and other concerned agencies in guarding the provincial borders of Kalinga in the strict implementation of the order. Local government units, agricultural offices and different municipalities of Kalinga were directed to conduct information and education campaign in their localities for the awareness of their constituents on animal diseases.