Tolentino calls for DOH-BAI collaboration to address ASF, bird flu
Senator Francis Tolentino (Senate PRIB)
Senator Francis "Tol" Tolentino on Saturday, June 10, urged the new leadership of the Department of Health (DOH) to collaborate with the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) to help address the problem of African Swine Flu (ASF) and Avian Influenza Flu in the country. In his weekly radio program on DZRH, Tolentino asked new-appointed Health Secretary Teodoro Herbosa if there’s a way for hog and fowl farmers to directly access vaccines for ASF and bird flu, respectively, since the current policy only allows them to have limited number of doses for their livestock and poultry. Tolentino stressed that during his recent visit in Pampanga, he was able to talk to some hog raisers and poultry operators who are willing to directly purchase vaccines for the sake of maintaining their respective livelihoods, as the number of doses being set to be provided by BAI are not enough to cover all the animals inside their farms. In response, Herbosa heeded Tolentino's suggestion, noting that he would immediately reach out to the Department of Agriculture (DA) to find out how they could collaborate on the matter. He recently filed Senate Resolution (SR) No.580, which seeks to determine the appropriate government actions in preventing and controlling another possible outbreak of bird flu in the country. The senator earlier also urged the national government to declare a state of national calamity due to the severe impact of ASF.