The Department of Agriculture (DA) reported on Saturday that five piglets with comorbidities in Batangas died after receiving the African swine fever (ASF) vaccine.

DA Assistant Secretary Arnel De Mesa said the piglets died days after receiving the vaccine dose, and these were the only deaths recorded during the DA’s test vaccination of approximately 10,000 pigs in Batangas.

“Five died but it was because their pre-existing conditions were not identified. They had pulmonary diseases that caused the deaths of the piglets,” De Mesa explained.

“There was a precondition that was not disclosed to the person administering the vaccine,” he added.

The DA began vaccinating swine herds against ASF in August using AVAC jabs from Vietnam, which are purported to help pigs generate “90 percent of antibodies after 28-30 days.”

The national government initially procured 10,000 doses for hogs in Batangas.

“It’s the farmers’ freedom of choice. If they want it, we will do it. If they don’t, that’s fine too. It’s a free country, right? We won’t force anyone,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu-Laurel said earlier.

Tiu also mentioned that the DA is pushing to procure 150,000 doses, expecting to spend around P350 million on the vaccination program.

Earlier this week, the DA announced plans to expand the ASF vaccination program to areas in the Visayas and Mindanao, while also expediting trials of ASF vaccines from the United States, Vietnam, South Korea and Thailand.