• GILBERT P. BAYORAN
Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson yesterday requested Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia, to allow the passage of pork shipment products from Negros Occidental, bound for Eastern Visayas, to pass through Cebu.
Garcia has ordered a banning of the entry of live pigs and pork related products from Negros Island, after African Swine Fever cases were detected in Cebu City, from pigs that allegedly mingled with pigs originating from Negros.
The order prompted Negros Occidental and Bacolod City to order the banning of live pigs, boar semen, pork and its related products, due to detection of ASF cases in Cebu.
Lacson said he already wrote a letter to Garcia, asking to lift her executive order, stressing that Negros Occidental has not been declared as a “red zone” for ASF cases.
He however admitted that it is becoming challenging, as Negros Island is now surrounded by provinces with ASF cases.
Negros Occidental and Bacolod City have banned the entry of live pigs and pork related products from Panay Island and Guimaras, due to detection of ASF cases in those provinces.
Lacson said he even suggested that hog farmers in Negros Occidental send their shipments to Manila as an alternative. But he said they complained that the current pricing of pork in Manila is very low.*
