Cebu bans pigs, pork products from Mindanao

MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – The Cebu provincial government has imposed a 90-day temporary ban on pork products from all regions in Mindanao, after cases of African swine fever (ASF) were confirmed in the Davao region. (READ: FAST FACTS: What is African swine fever?)

Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia announced in a press conference on Tuesday, February 11, that the ban will be implemented through one of two executive orders (EO) she would sign this week to stem the spread of ASF.

EO 7, which she signed Tuesday night, takes effect on Thursday, February 13. It imposed a ban on all pork, pork-related products, live hogs, boar semen, and commingled meat from the rest of Mindanao for 90 days. 

“You know that Mindanao is an island. It is easy to cross borders from one province to the next, and we know that this [virus] can easily be transmitted through clothing, through tires of the vehicles, through grass,” Garcia said in explaining the need for the EO.

She said EO 7 would not likely cause a pork shortage or a price hike on pork, as the Mindanao ban would only last 90 days. EO 7 also imposed a price cap on pork prices fr the duration of the ban.

The second EO she would sign this week will impose an indefinite ban on the same items from Luzon, Eastern Visayas, and the Davao region. Garcia explained that while the ban on the rest of Mindanao would only last for 90 days, the ban on the Davao region would be indefinite following confirmed cases there.

The ASF is a disease that affects pigs and cannot be transmitted to humans. It has a 100% fatality rate and has no known cure. Its presence in the Philippines is believed to have originated from imported pork and pork products from China tainted with ASF.

The first confirmed cases in the Philippines were detected in Rizal and Bulacan. In the Davao region, the virus was first detected in Don Marcelino, Davao Occidental. – Rappler.com