The Court of Appeals (CA) has granted the petition of the Cebu Provincial Government for a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against the Bureau of Animal Industry’s culling and zone mapping policies in relation to the containment of the alleged African Swine Fever outbreak in Cebu.
While culling is no longer implemented in Cebu following Gov. Gwen Garcia’s Memorandum No. 06-2023, the agency continues to label Cebu as ASF-infected red zone, making it hard, if not impossible, for Cebu-based hog growers to ship their products to markets outside the province.
The reason for this is because executives of other provinces, cities, and municipalities, in protecting their own interest, have issued executive orders barring the entry into their respective territories of hogs and related products from BAI-declared ASF-infected LGUs.
Earlier this month, the governor brought to light the dire situation in the Camotes Group of Islands whose hogs are no longer allowed entry into the neighboring LGUs of Leyte and Samar after executives there barred the entry of hogs from Cebu, which according to BAI is infested with an ASF outbreak.
“The only justification nga any local government unit would prohibit the entry [of hogs] was, it was BAI’s declaration, and they are supposed to be science-based. Pero the way I was seeing it sa kadaghang baboy nangamatay, sayang-based. Sayang ang mga baboy,” Gov. Garcia said during the media briefing on June 30.
With the issuance of the TRO by the CA, Gov. Garcia said the BAI is mandated to cease and desist from color-coding Cebu as ASF infested red zone so that other LGUs would no longer have any reason in refusing to accept hogs coming from the province.
Moreover, the governor continued, the BAI has to issue shipping permits to Cebu-based hog growers so that they could resume sending their products to their usual markets outside the province.
Gov. Garcia has also renewed her call to governors and mayors, with the special mention of Ormoc Mayor Lucy Torres-Gomez, to lift their executive orders prohibiting the entry of hogs coming from Cebu because it has ceased to be a red zone as mandated by the CA; and hence there no longer is any reason to prohibit their entry. | IPA