CEBU CITY – This city assured it has enough supply of meat that will even last until December amid the continuing threat of African Swine Fever (ASF).
“We can sustain until December. So don’t worry, we will have ‘lechon’ (roasted pig) for the ‘noche buena’ (Christmas Eve repast),” Dr. Jessica Maribojoc, chief of Cebu City Department of Veterinary Medicine and Fisheries (DVMF).
Maribojoc made the assurance as she revealed that the city has enforced stricter border control to prevent the entry of ASF that has affected several areas in the country.
Cebu Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia has issued an Executive Order (EO) banning the entry of live hogs, pork, and pork products from Iloilo City and Panay Island into the province until Dec. 12.
The 60-day ban was imposed due to the suspected case of ASF in Iloilo.
Mayor Michael Rama here has instructed the DVMF to adopt Garcia’s EO, which means live hogs, pork, and pork products from Iloilo City and Panay Island are also prohibited from entering Cebu City.
This city had earlier banned the entry of pork, live hog, and pork products from Luzon and Mindanao and those from Korea and China.
Dr. Edelito Galaura, head of the DVMF Public Health Division, said Cebu is not experiencing shortage of meat and it even sells to other provinces.
Maribojoc said the city is closely working with Cebu to protect the multi-billion pork industry here and the province.
She said Central Visayas is the only region in the country with no reported case of ASF.
Maribojoc credited the Regional Quarantine Service for its efforts to protect Cebu from ASF by deploying personnel in ports and in mountain gateway roads to monitor the entry of meat.
She said that the virus can stay in an infected meat up to 1,000 days and will only die if exposed to very high temperature.
“In case a suspected case of ASF is discovered in a farm, all hogs within its 500-meter radius should be culled to prevent the virus from spreading further.”