Benguet on ASF lockdown

LA TRINIDAD, Philippines  – Benguet Gov. Melchor Diclas has ordered a temporary lockdown on the entry of live pigs into the province after the veterinarian’s office confirmed that the samples taken from two piggeries tested positive for African swine fever (ASF).

“The temporary lockdown is for the protection of everybody,” Diclas explained in issuing the executive order to prevent the entry of pigs in the province.

“Due to the great demand for pigs, some unscrupulous shippers resorted to deceitful acts,” he said, adding that shippers are transporting undocumented pigs in private vehicles to avoid checkpoints.

He also said that some shippers produce fake documents, fake ASF negative tests results and misdeclared sources.

Diclas noted that some swine raisers are still patronizing swill or leftover food from restaurants in Baguio City despite the warnings against swill feeding. 

Provincial veterinarian Meriam Tiongan confirmed on Wednesday that the samples taken from piggeries at Camp 1 in Tuba and Beckel in La Trinidad tested positive for ASF.

There were 177 “de-populated” (culled) pigs in a commercial piggery in Camp 1, Tuba town after a pig tested positive for the virus. The pigs included the Vietnamese variety pigs, which are likened to native boars and the local breed.

The owner himself reported the incident and has opted to have all his animals immediately culled to prevent the spread of the disease, Tiongan said.

“We did the ‘de pop’ on Tuesday night as requested by the owner. He opted to have all his animals killed and buried as he was afraid that people will blame him for bringing ASF,” the Benguet provincial veterinarian said.

She said they suspect the contamination came from the swill feed that the owner gets from a restaurant in Baguio.

While in Beckel, La Trinidad, a police officer reportedly bought online 52 piglets in Pangasinan and brought them here without clearances and permits via ordinary pickup trucks to avoid detection along quarantine checkpoints.

When Tiongan and her team went for de-pop, one had already died and the others were very weak and showed signs of ASF. The owner reportedly asked the government veterinarians to cull all the piglets.