Concerned agencies of the Department of Agriculture (DA) have been directed to expedite the development of first-border inspection facilities around the country in order to halt the spread of African swine fever (ASF).
Domingo Panganiban, Senior Undersecretary of Agriculture, issued the order after farmers' groups complained about a lack of infrastructure for monitoring the entry of imported pork products into the country.
New ASF infections have recently been reported in Bacolod, Negros Occidental, Dauin, Negros Oriental, and four municipalities in Aklan.
In a public forum last week, stakeholders and livestock sector representatives emphasized the absence of indemnification for hog raisers harmed by ASF, according to Estoperez.
The executive director of the farmers' group Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura (SINAG), Jayson Cainglet, previously stated that the majority of hog raisers, particularly those engaged in backyard hog-raising, do not report cases of ASF due to the DA's lack of an indemnity offer for affected pigs.
Estoperez stated that the DA is now seeking to grant indemnity to encourage affected hog raisers to disclose ASF instances.
Cainglet believes that first-border control and indemnity mechanisms are critical to stopping the virus's spread.

Nonon Tambago, president of the Philippine Pork Producers Federation, has warned that ongoing ASF expansion will devastate the local hog sector.

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