Since naungkat itong usapin ng African Swine Fever, we might as well discuss this issue to clarify everything.
Here are the questions which I would like to address and the answers:
1. Question: Following reports of ASF outbreaks in Europe and China in 2018, ano ang ginawa ng Department of Agriculture/Bureau of Animal Industry na paghahanda para mapigilan ang pagpasok sa Pilipinas at kung makapasok man, ano ang gagawin?
Answer: As early as August 2018, nag issue na ako ng Department Administrative Order banning the importation of pork from countries with reported outbreaks. Meron pang shipments na dumating after this AO but these were shipped before the outbreak at hindi nasama sa cut-off date. Nagset-up ng mga Quarantine Posts sa mga airport para di makapasok ang mga handcarry na pork products at noong may nahuli na OFW na may Maling, na-Tulfo pa ang mga tauha ko sa BAI. Naglagay ng mga K9 sa airports at nagrekomenda ako sa Office of the Executive Secretary na na magbuo ng National Task Force on the African Swine Fever to be composed of several agencies of government kasi hindi kakayanin ng DA. Hindi ito na-aksyonan kasama na ang kahilingan sa DBM ng additional na pondo para maka establish ng mga X-Ray machines para sa mga incoming handcarried baggages.
2. Question: Kailan nakapasok at pumutok ang ASF sa Pilipinas?
Answer: Ang sagot ko dito ay base na sa reports na aking natanggap at hindi na first-hand knowledge kasi ang unang published report ng ASF sa Montalban, Rizal ay noong late August 2019 at wala na ako sa DA. Bakit sa Montalban? Ito ay dahil merong garbage dump malapit sa area at merong nangongolekta ng mga tira-tirang pagkain at ito ay ipinapakain sa mga baboy na inaalagan malapit sa area. Ang tawag dito ay “kaning-baboy” o “swill feeds.” May report na maaring nakapasok ang ASF virus sa bansa sa pamamagitan ng mga processed pork products at ang mga tirang pagkain ay itinapon sa Montalban. Ito ay noong mga huling linggo ng aking panunungkulan bilang DA Secretary sapagkat ang incubation period ng ASF virus ay 5 to 15 days, meaning the virus could not have entered the country earlier than July 2019.
3. Question: Ano ang ginawa ng DA/BAI pagputok ng balita?
Answer: Ayong kay Dr. Enrico Garzon, Asst. Secretary of Agriculture at acting Director of BAI ng panahon na iyon, kaagad nyang pinatawag ang mga veterinary officers ng mga bayan sa palibot ng Ground Zero tulad ng ginawang pagkontrol sa Bird Flu sa Pampanga upang ilatag na ang containment at prevention measures following the protocols already prepared by the DA. Ipinatawag diumano sya ng kasalukuyang Secretary ng DA at kinompronta kung bakit nagpatawag sya ng meeting na hindi nagpasabi sa DA Secretary at ang sagot ni Dr. Garzon was that he was following established protocols na since emergency, the Task Force on ASF had to act right away. He was warned not to do it again and later he was dismissed and replaced.
4. Question: Saan nagkamali ang DA/BAI in handling the ASF Crisis?
Answer: Ito ay sarili kong pananaw at wala akong intensyon na siraan ang sinuman subali’t kailangang maipaliwanag para meron tayong matutunan. The first problem was denial. The DA/BAI wanted to keep the problem under wraps which was totally different with our handling of the Bird Flu where we made it public and told the farmers on what to do. They failed to set up a perimeter quarantine zone immediately and did not compensate the farmers with an amount equivalent to the price of their hogs. Again, this was in contrast to what we did in Pampanga where we asked the farm owners kung magkano ang manok nila at binayaran sila agad. The P5,000 payment is not enough to cover the production cost so ang ginawa ng hog raisers ay kinatay ang kanilang baboy at ibenenta ang karne at umabot ito sa Bulacan kung saan ang second case ng ASF outbreak was reported. Worse, the DA/BAI failed to come up with a disposal strategy kaya may mga nakitang patay na baboy na lumutang sa Marikina River. After this, the ASF was already beyond control. Sumabog na at umabot sa Mindanao and in spite of the press releases, the truth is the ASF is still ravaging the hog industry. Hindi ito puedeng ipagkaila sapagkat sa bayan ko mismo sa Mlang, nananalasa ang ASF.
5. Question: Ano ang hinaharap ng Hog Industry at ano ang posibleng legislative remedies para makabangon ang industriya?
Answer: Ang tanging pag-asa na lamang ng Hog Industry para matigil ang pananalasa ng ASF ay kung maging proven effective na ang mga bakuna laban sa ASF. There is an on-going field test and preliminary reports say the vaccine is effective. Pending that, I will take these legislative actions:
1. Hog Industry Compensation Act – The onslaught of ASF and the devastation it caused was due to the failure of government to prevent it from entering the country and to contain it. I will move for a compensation program which would entitle the farmer to a fair refund of his losses based on documented and official reporting of culled hogs. This would give him enough financial foundation to start anew;
2. Establish Agro-Industrial Zones where hog farms will be located beside grains production areas, along with chicken farms, to ensure that bio-security protocols are enforced and future outbreak of diseases are prevented. This would also bring down the cost of production since the inputs needed for hog and poultry raising would be located near the area. There would ge proper waste management and a possible processing of these wastes into agricultural soil enhancers. Tax incentives would be provided and the conflict between the hog raisers and the LGUs implementing land use and zoning ordinances would be addressed.
3. For Rural Hog Raisers, the idea of establishing a common hog raising facility where bio-security measures are observed should be recommended for adoption by Local Government Units.
To recap, the ASF may have indeed penetrated our virtual Quarantine Walls during the last few days of my stint as Secretary of Agriculture but had it been handled well and established protocols were observed, it could have been contained and prevented from spreading.
(Photo of ASF afflicted hogs downloaded from Rappler website.)
More Stories
Breeding Season Starts!
Practical Tips On Bio-Security In Free-Range Chicken Farming!
Breadfruit Grows Fast In My Dreamed Food Forest!