By Christine Fabro
President Rodrigo Duterte has declared a nationwide state of calamity due to the African swine fever (ASF) outbreak that has decimated the local hog industry and allied industries.
On Monday (May 10), he signed Proclamation No. 1143, which states in part: “There is an urgent need to address the continued spread of ASF and its adverse impacts, to jumpstart the rehabilitation of the local hog industry, and to ensure the availability, adequacy, and affordability of pork products, all for the purpose of attaining food security,”
The state of calamity throughout the Philippines is imposed for a period of one year, “unless earlier lifted or extended as circumstances may warrant.”
The ASF outbreak has resulted in a significant decline in the swine population by around three million hogs, which amounts to more than P100 billion losses to the local hog sector and allied industries.
ASF was first reported in the country in 2019, and since then has widely spread to 12 regions, 46 provinces, 493 cities and municipalities, and 2,571 barangays, with the new cases continuously being reported despite government interventions. – jlo
