'Prepare for the worst': Solon calls for House probe on African Swine Fever situation
At A Glance
- AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert "Manoy" T. Lee believes there is a need for the House of Representatives to look into the escalating impact of the African Swine Fever (ASF) in the country.
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AGRI Party-list Rep. Wilbert “Manoy” T. Lee believes there is a need for the House of Representatives to look into the escalating impact of the African Swine Fever (ASF) in the country.
For this purpose, Lee filed House Resolution (HR) No. 1956 in the current 19th Congress.
Lee expressed his concerns over the ASF situation at summit on "SMART LGUs" in Iloilo City that was organized by the Vice Mayors’ League of the Philippines. He attended as guest speaker.
He stressed the need for the Department of Agriculture (DA) to "prepare for the worst" in a bid to avoid supply shortage of pork and pork products, which can lead to increase in prices.
“Bukod sa ASF, isa sa magiging hamon sa supply ng karne ng baboy ang paparating na La Niña. Ngayon pa lang ay dapat puspusan na ang paghahanda ng DA para siguruhin na hindi magkakaroon ng kakulangan sa karne ng baboy lalo na sa paparating na holiday season,” Lee said.
(Aside from ASF, one of the challenges that confront the supply of pork is the upcoming La Niña. This early, the DA should aggressively prepare for it so as to avoid a pork shortage during the holiday season.)
He called on concerned government agencies, including the DA and Philippine Crop Insurance Corporation (PCIC), to provide assistance to hog raisers, safeguard their livelihood, and ensure food security.
For Lee, the government should link hog raisers to markets where they can sell their products considering that there can be a possible rise in hesitance to buy pork due to ASF.
Lee further emphasized the importance of ramping up and intensifying biosecurity measures to contain ASF. He also sought more testing to identify infected areas, including contaminated materials and livestock transport trucks.
With the anticipated delivery of 10,000 doses of ASF AVAC live vaccines to address the ASF spread in Batangas on Aug. 16, Lee urged DA to prepare contingency plans in case of delays.