Travelers warned vs bringing pork, poultry products

MANILA, Philippines — Aside from the usually prohibited deadly weapons and materials, travelers bound for their hometowns and provinces this Holy Week have been warned against bringing poultry and livestock products that might spread African swine fever (ASF) and bird flu, according to the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA).

Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard said it deployed over 2,000 frontline personnel in 15 PCG districts tasked to inspect vessels and motorized bancas to ensure the safety of passengers who will be going home for the Holy Week.

“The PCG has placed its districts, stations and substations on heightened alert to manage the influx of passengers from April 2 to 10,” the PCG said in a Viber message yesterday.

In a statement, the PPA said some goods or products are confiscated in
 PPA-run ports, in compliance with existing orders and guidelines from the national and local governments.

All pork products are banned by the Port Management Office (PMO) at the port of Batangas and Lucena in Quezon for passengers bound for Mindoro and Marinduque, respectively.

All pork and chicken products are banned at the port of Calapan in Mindoro.

Port management in Bicol also banned live hogs and processed and frozen pork products with no proper shipment permits at the Port of Matnog, which serves passengers bound for the Visayas and Mindanao.

All ports under the jurisdiction of the PMO in Masbate are strictly prohibiting passengers from bringing live chicken and pork meat from Cebu, Pilar, Pio Duran and Lucena, unless there is a permit issued by the PPA.

The PMO in Siquijor, Negros Oriental banned pork meat and pork products at the ports of Dumaguete, Larena, Sibulan, Siquijor and Bulado.

Similar restrictions are also implemented in all ports in Panay and Guimaras that have trips to Bacolod in Negros Occidental.

All meat products without complete documents from concerned agencies are banned in all PMO-run ports in Bohol.

Bringing of live hogs, pork products and by-products whether fresh, frozen, processed or cooked, including but not limited to frozen boar semen from areas with reported ASF, are also banned in Leyte.

Heightened alert

The heightened alert status will remain until May 31 or during the summer vacation in anticipation of the influx of sea travelers, the PCG said.

It said it monitored 56,043 outbound passengers, or those who departed from their ports of origin, and 42,825 inbound passengers, or those who arrived in different ports nationwide from 6 a.m. to noon.

Travelers are urged to coordinate with the PCG through its official Facebook page, or to the Coast Guard Public Affairs hotline 0927-560-7729 for inquiries, concerns and clarifications regarding sea travel protocols and other regulations during the Holy Week or summer break.

Officials yesterday visited the terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to observe the flow of passengers and inspect enhancement made at the airports.

Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista and Tourism Secretary Cristina Frasco along with Manila International Airport Authority general manager Cesar Chiong first stopped at the NAIA Terminal 2 to see the “new face” of the terminal, which is adorned with native decorations and seating areas that showcase Filipino culture and products.

Bautista said the passenger flow and volume yesterday was fairly low, noting he expects a surge between today and Sunday.

He said the number of air travelers may reach two million.

Frasco said the new look of the NAIA Terminal 2 is part of a program agreed upon by the DOTr and the DOT and aimed at identifying gateways that will be given a “Filipino touch.”

Frasco said the new look of the terminals is intended to enhance overall tourist experience.

Meanwhile, Sen. Alan Peter Cayetano urged government officials and personnel to be strict in implementing safety standards for public vehicles to prevent tragedies such as the ferry fire in Basilan from happening again.

“I appeal to all government agencies. It’s our obligation to keep people safe,” Cayetano said in Filipino after the opening of the Life of Christ Park in Taguig City.

“And the best way to do that is no compromises when it comes to safety regulations,” he added.

Cayetano cited a report of the Bureau of Fire Protection, which said the blaze that destroyed the MV Lady Mary Joy 3 may have been caused by an electric short circuit.

Cayetano said authorities must be firm in banning substandard public utility vehicles and transport units from the roads and sealanes.

“When we inspect buses, cars, trucks and they are found to be substandard and should not be on the road, let’s not allow them (to travel),” he said.

Citing previous tragedies that have claimed numerous lives due to negligence, Cayetano said it’s time for the government to learn from them.

He said the revenue that the transport industry generates is not worth the lives lost in an accident.

Cayetano encouraged the public to make use of social media to report their first-hand experiences on malpractices and lack of safety measures in public transport. – Paolo Romero, Mark Ernest Villeza, Rudy Santos