The Provincial Veterinary Office (ProVet) is reminding residents not to include bringing pork meat as “pasalubong” from their vacations and to avoid purchasing its processed products online to maintain Palawan’s status as African swine fever-free.
Palawan continues to remain unaffected by African swine fever (ASF) as reported by ProVet during the first semester of 2023, despite the escalating transmission rates observed in other parts of the country.
Dr. Darius P. Mangcucang, the officer-in-charge at ProVet, attributes the province’s success in maintaining an ASF-free status to the relentless efforts of the provincial government through its aggressive awareness campaign against the highly contagious viral disease of domestic and wild pigs,.
According to the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI), ASF cases have been documented in 58 municipalities across 16 provinces within 9 regions of the country.
“Napanatili ng lalawigan ng Palawan ang estado na nasa green zone o ASF-free dahil sa patuloy na mga inisyatibong ginagawa ng pamahalaang panlalawigan sa pamamagitan ng Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) katuwang ang mga LGU, veterinary officers, Barangay Biosecurity Officers (BBO), at mga ahensya sa lalawigan na nagsusulong ng kampanya kontra ASF,” he said.
ProVet continues to remind the public to follow the measures implemented by the Provincial Government to prevent the entry of ASF into the province.
Dr. Mangcucang urged Palaweños not to include pork products in their vacation plans, as they can be a potential source of the spread of ASF.
He also emphasized that caretakers of pigs are not allowed to collect pork food items from hotels, as it cannot guarantee their safety.
Furthermore, he advised against purchasing online meat products from Manila because there is no way of knowing if they are from hot sources or red zone provinces.
“Sa mga Palaweño na kababayan natin, huwag natin isama sa bakasyon natin ang mga produktong baboy dahil maaari itong pagmulan ng pagkalat ng sakit na ASF. Hindi rin natin pinahihintulutan na mangolekta ng mga pagkaing baboy sa mga hotel ang mga nag-aalaga ng baboy dahil hindi tayo nakasisiguro rito gayundin ang hindi pagtangkilik sa mga nagbebenta ng online meat products na galing sa Maynila dahil hindi natin alam kung ito ay hot meat o galing sa mga red zone provinces,” urged Dr. Mangcucang.
The public is advised to report any suspected pig illnesses or significant pig mortalities to the Provincial Veterinary Office or the Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO).
“Kung may mga kahina-hinalang pagkakasakit ng mga baboy o maramihang pagkamatay, ipagbigay alam lang po sa aming tanggapan na Provincial Veterinary Office at sa mga Municipal Agriculture Office,” Dr. Mangcucang further emphasized.
