DILG orders LGUs to intensify ASF control measures

MANILA, Philippines — Interior Secretary Eduardo Año has ordered local government units (LGUs) to strengthen their control measures against the spread of African swine fever (ASF) as the disease was recently confirmed in Mindanao. 

The LGUs, he said, should coordinate with national agencies to ensure strict compliance with guidelines on preventing and controlling the spread of the disease and work toward completely eradicating it in the country.

“This is an urgent matter that should be prioritized by LGUs to save lives and save livelihood,” he said in a statement issued over the weekend. 

He stressed that local chief executives should ensure that priority areas for action as prescribed by the Department of Agriculture (DA) be strictly followed as he urged them to provide logistics support for local veterinary offices and alternative livelihood for affected farmers.

The ASF prevention and control plans, he added, should also be strengthened to ensure that surveillance, border control and movement management are effectively implemented. 

At least 569 barangays in 120 municipalities and cities in the country have reported the presence of ASF in their communities. 

“Protecting public health is of utmost importance that calls for proactivity and a sense of urgency among LGUs. Doing this duty has to be tempered with giving incentives to affected sectors like hog raisers in order to be more effective and to get people’s cooperation,” said DILG spokesman Undersecretary Jonathan Malaya.