Matapos maitala ang positibong kaso ng African Swine fever (ASF) sa ilang namatay na baboy kamakailan, naglabas ng pondo ang Department of Budget and Management (DBM) para suportahan ang hakbang na gagawin ng mga otoridad bilang tugon dito.
Aabot sa P82.5-milyon ang budget na inilaan ng DBM sa Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) matapos aprubahan ni Pangulong Rodrigo Duterte.
“Following the approval of the President, the Department of Budget and Management released PhP82.5 million to the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Animal Industry on September 10, 2019. This amount covers the funding requirements for the African Swine Fever (ASF) preventive measures,” ayon sa DBM.
Sa ilalim nito, P32-milyon ang ibabahagi para sa maintenance ng security and detection ng karneng produkto sa mga paliparan.
Ang 28-milyon naman ay gagamitin para iba pang test ng blood samples, P18-milyon para surveillance at monitoring.
Habang P5.4-milyon ang nakalaan sa awareness campaign.
“Of the PhP82.5 million released amount, PhP31.8 million will be for Maintenance of Security for Detection of Meat and Meat products at the International Airports, PhP27.7 million will be for testing of samples of meat and meat products, PhP17.6 million will be for surveillance and monitoring, and PhP5.4 million will be for Awareness Campaign and Capacity Building.”
“ASF is a highly contagious hemorrhagic viral disease of pigs, warthogs, European wild boar and American wild pigs. As part of the Philippine prevention strategies on the on-going ASF threat, the BABES strategy has been implemented since the start of the outbreak in China, described as follows: (1) Banning pork imports, (2) Avoiding swill feeding, (3) Blocking entry of hand-carried meat, (4) Educating the people, and (5) Submitting lab samples.”
Una ng sinabi ni Department of Agriculture Sec. William Dar na nananatiling ligtas ang karne ng baboy na binibenta sa mga palengke ngayon.
Pero payo nito sa mga consumer, siguraduhing bilhin ang mga ibinibentang karne na may stamp approval mula sa National Meat Inspection Service.
