CEBU CITY – This city has deployed additional personnel tasked to monitor the entry of pork shipment in seaports here.
Their deployment is part of the continuing efforts to prevent the entry of African Swine Fever (ASF) here, said Dr. Jessica Maribojoc, chief of the local Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF).
Maribojoc said they continue to ban pork and pork by-products from South Korea and China. The entry of pork from Luzon and Mindanao is also prohibited, said Maribojoc.
Live swine within Region 6 (Western Visayas) and Region 7 (Central Visayas) are the only ones allowed to enter this city as stipulated in an executive order issued by Mayor Michael Rama, said Maribojoc.
Maribojoc disclosed that just last Monday, July 4, the DVMF seized pork products from Lanao del Norte, Korea, and China. Seventy kilos of pork from Mindanao were seized.
The DVMF was also able to seize “chicharon” or pork rinds inside a mall here. “The chicharon was displaced in a mall. It was not the first time that we seized chicharon from that particular mall so I think it’s high time to impose stiffer penalty,” said Maribojoc.
Despite the banning of pork from ASF-affected places, Maribojoc assured that the city has enough supply of pork.
She said there is a need to protect the city from ASF even if the disease is not a threat to human health. “ASF is highly contagious and is deadly for swine.”