Department of Agriculture chief fires NAIA quarantine team

MANILA, Philippines — Agriculture Secretary Emmanuel Piñol relieved yesterday the entire quarantine team at the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) for failure to implement protocols to prevent the entry of pork products from countries affected by the African Swine Fever or ASF.

“The relief of the quarantine officers at the NAIA should send a clear message to employees of the Department of Agriculture (DA) that we should not take administrative directives for granted,” Piñol said.

He said the government tightened measures to prevent the entry of ASF into the country after threat of the disease was monitored by the World Organization for Animal Health.

Piñol ordered the agency’s Internal Administrative Service to conduct an investigation and determine if the quarantine officers could be charged with dereliction of duty.

Last week, the DA chief issued a memorandum for all quarantine stations to ban and intercept pork products from ASF-affected countries.

Piñol also ordered the establishment of footbaths at all entry points of the country.

However, hog industry stakeholders complained that the NAIA quarantine team failed to set up a footbath facility during the holidays.

“The Bureau of Animal Industry admitted that the NAIA quarantine group was the only station that failed to comply with the directive because of procurement issues,” Piñol said.

He appealed to consumers to buy pork and pork-based products produced by local farmers.

“The threat is real and it could affect an industry, which benefits millions of families, mostly small backyard farmers who raise 15 million heads of hogs every year,” Piñol said.

“The entry of ASF into the country, whose effects on humans are still being studied could, devastate the hog industry,” he added.

While the government cannot stop legitimate meat importers from bringing pork products into the country, Piñol asked traders not to import meat from high-risk countries.

Health experts described ASF as a “contagious, untreatable and fatal virus sweeping the global hog population,  and future mutations could affect humans.”

It is a highly contagious hemorrhagic disease in pigs, warthogs, European wild boar and American wild pigs. Mortality rates are as high as 100 percent, the DA said.

The ban on pork imports remains in effect in 13 countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, China, Czech Republic, Hungary, Moldova, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Africa, Ukraine and Zambia.

Quarantine officers were ordered to confiscate and destroy pork products from countries affected by ASF within 24 hours after interception.    – With Rudy Santos