Philippines to deploy this year’s First Boarder Facility Against ASF, Bird Flu

SIBALOM, Antique- The Philippine government is set to launch this year its first border facility that hopes to combat the spread of the African Swine Flu (ASF) and even Bird Flu, according to Senator Cynthia Villar.

Villar was here Monday as the commencement speaker for the graduation rites of the University of Antique, whose main office is in Sibalom.She was met by Antique Governor Rhodora Cadiao, Vice Governor Edgar Denosta, and the university executives.

“We, in the Philippines, do not have a border facility that hopes to test all the pigs that are ready for slaughter. It is a laboratory where the hogs would test if they are ASF positive. It will also have the capability to test against bird flu,” Villar, who chairs the committee on agriculture in the Senate, said.

The facility is to be deployed one each in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao. Villar did not mention its location.

“There is already a vaccine developed against the ASF. It is the job of the Bureau of Animal Industry to implement it soon,” she added.

Villar told this to the Antique media during the ambushed interview at the UA. On June 21, 2023, the Department of Agriculture-Western Visayas reported that they had monitored ASF cases in Hamtic, Antique.

Because of this, the Hamtic local government placed the town in a state of calamity on June 23.

On June 28, the Antique Office of Veterinarians reported that around 2,335 hogs died in Hamtic because of the ASF. The number costs P22,682,500.00 of value to the economy of the Antique province.

Currently, almost each town in Antique has deployed border-to-border checkpoints, hoping to mitigate the effect of the ASF.

In Aklan, as of July 11, 2023, at least 14 out of 17 towns had already been inflicted by the ASF, according to the reports of the Provincial Veterinarian.

Only the towns of Buruanga, Libacao, and Nabas are currently deemed free from the dreaded ASF.