The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) is working with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to prevent the spread of African Swine Fever (ASF) in the National Capital Region (NCR).
MMDA chairperson Romando Artes and General Manager Usec. Procopio Lipana met with BAI officials led by Dr. Christian Daquigan and Dr. Noverlee Calub to discuss the measures being taken to prevent the spread of ASF.
The two agencies also discussed the locations of BAI’s inspection sites and their plan to add more as a preventive measure.
BAI is scheduled to present its action plans and formally request the support of Metro Manila mayors during the next Metro Manila Council (MMC) meeting.
The MMC, composed of the 17 local executives in NCR, is the governing board and policy-making body of the MMDA.
The meeting between MMDA and BAI took place after authorities intercepted two delivery trucks loaded with 147 hogs that tested positive for ASF at a checkpoint in Quezon City.
In Bicol, Agriculture department officials urged local government units to support them in combating the ASF outbreak in at least 12 municipalities across three provinces in the region.
Seven towns in Camarines Sur, three towns in Catanduanes, and two in Masbate have reported active ASF cases from July to August 2024.
The Department of Agriculture (DA) implemented immediate depopulation of hogs within a 500-meter radius of affected pig pens, resulting in a total of 209 heads culled from July to August 2024.
