Garcia mulling to extend EO banning entry of pork in Cebu amid continued spread of ASF
CEBU CITY -- The expiry of the Executive Order (EO) that bans the entry to Cebu of pork products from Panay Island is on December 12, but Governor Gwendolyn Garcia is already planning to extend it.
The governor said she will be issuing another EO to extend the ban as cases of African Swine Fever (ASF) in Panay continue to spread.
Aside from mulling to ban extension, the governor at the same time called on all airlines and shipping companies to consistently remind passengers to avoid bringing pork products to Cebu.
The province has previously imposed an indefinite ban on the entry of pork and pork-based products from the ASF-affected Luzon, Mindanao and Eastern Visayas.
"Right now, of the 81 provinces in the entire country, 62 provinces are already infected with ASF,” Garcia said during a media briefing on Wednesday, Nov. 9.
“They have not been able to control the ASF spread in Panay and Iloilo," added Garcia.
The governor said Cebu has been monitoring the situation in Panay.
"We will extend the ban because we are trying to study if they can contain it, but they did not,” stressed Garcia.
The governor’s EO No. 42 bans the entry of pork and pork-related products from Iloilo and Panay for a period of 60 days or until Dec. 12, 2022.
The governor recalled that when she issued EO No. 42, there were only about 30 ASF cases in Panay.
The number of ASF cases in Panay has doubled since the issuance of her EO, the governor pointed out.