“Ligtas kainin ang mga karne ng baboy at manok sa lahat ng Pamilihan ng Lungsod ng San Pedro.”
This was the reassurance of the city government of San Pedro, Laguna amid growing concerns about the spread of African swine fever (ASF) and bird flu in the province of Laguna.
With at least four towns and one city in the province having reported an outbreak of ASF, City Veterinary Office head Dr. Ma. Fe Templado assured consumers that the city government under Mayor Art Mercado is doing its best measures to ensure the safety of consumers, as well as to protect the small but significant hog-raising industry in the city.
"Mayroon po tayong dalawang commercial hog farms, yung Holiday Farm at Leslie Farm [both situated in Barangay San Antonio], tapos may mga backyard operators rin po tayo sa mga barangay ng Cuyab, San Antonio, San Roque and Landayan," she reported in an interview with OpinYon Laguna.
Through these farms, most meat vendors and dealers in San Pedro City get their products, Templado pointed out, while most hogs grown for local consumption are processed at the city’s only slaughterhouse.
“Mayroon po tayong iniisyu na Meat Inspection Certificates na ibinibigay bilang paninigurado po sa ating mga consumer na ligtas po ang karne na kinakatay sa ating local slaughterhouse dito sa San Pedro City,” she explained.
Precautionary measures
Templado added that the San Pedro City Veterinary Office had called on the city’s hog raisers to inform them of the preventive measures that needed to be done to prevent an outbreak of ASF among the city’s hog farms.
“Sa ngayon naman po ay alam na ng ating mga hog raiser kung ano ang mga kailangan nilang gawin para hindi po kumalat ang ASF dito sa ating lungsod,” she said.
The City Veterinary Office has also coordinated with the City Public Order and Safety Office (POSO) and the Philippine National Police (PNP) to monitor hogs being transported into and through San Pedro City.
“Sinisiguro po natin na hindi po makakapasok ang mga delinquent dealer dito sa ating mga pamilihan, tapos may binibigay po tayong acceptance form sa mga nagdadala ng mga baboy para alam natin kung ilan ang papasok sa ating lungsod,” Templado explained.
“Mahigpit rin ang ating instruction sa mga inspector, sa mga tauhan ng POSO at PNP, na kapag walang dokumento na maipakita ang mga meat vendor or dealer, automatic pong itinuturing na kontrabando ang mga paninda nilang karne, so condemned na po ang mga ito,” she added.
While vaccines are now reported to be available against ASF, Templado noted that such vaccines are still “unproven” to work against the virus that carries the disease.
As such, she emphasized, prevention is still the primary approach of the city government to ensure that San Pedro City stays ASF-free.
“Huwag rin po tayo agad-agad maniwala sa mga nakikita natin online na nag-aalok o nagbebenta ng vaccine against ASF. Sa ngayon po ay wala pa pong commercially available na bakuna laban dito,” Templado also warned.
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