State of calamity
THE government, through concerned offices and agencies, is being called upon to address the outbreak of the dreaded African Swine Fever (ASF), which has devastated the country’s hog industry.
Aware of the catastrophic effects of the ASF outbreak, President Duterte has declared a state of calamity across the country as part of government efforts to stop the further spread of the disease.
Presidential Proclamation No. 1143 mandates all government agencies to cooperate with each other and mobilize the necessary resources to contain the spread of the disease.
In places where the ASF is a “frightening sight,” thousands of people whose cash and livelihood depend on the swine industry are jobless, hungry and unable to send their children to school.
The dreaded disease was first reported in the Philippines in 2019 and has so far spread to 12 regions, 46 provinces and 493 cities. New cases are still being reported despite government interventions.
And official records show that the ASF has reduced the country’s swine population by about three million hogs and resulted in P100 billion losses to the local hog sector and allied industries.
Of course, the retail prices of pork products increased, forcing the government to allow the importation of more pork meat despite strong opposition from hog raisers across the country.
In fact, President Duterte, through Executive Order (EO) No. 133, increased the minimum access volume (MAV) for pork meat under the Agricultural Tariffication Act.
Under the Chief Executive’s new EO 133, last year’s MAV of 54,210 metric tons of pork meat will be increased to 254,210 MT.
However, the EO mandates the MAV Management Committee to ensure fair volume allocation of all pork meat importers in accordance with the existing rules and regulations and MAV guidelines.
We commend the government for exerting its best efforts to rehabilitate the country’s hog industry.
