Reporter

THE Philippines is now awaiting the approval of the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) for the country’s application to certify Luzon as free from the dreaded foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) that usually strikes hogs.

Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) director Davinio Catbagan said the Philippines’ application with the OIE has been filed on January 4.

“[The OIE] gave us word that we should be on standby on January 17 and 18 for their comments. But we didn’t get any call from them,” said Catbagan in an interview at the sidelines of the launch of a campaign to educate hog raisers on the need to protect their farms.

He said this bolsters his hopes that the Philippines’ application would be approved by the OIE.

The BAI official said the OIE may complete its assessment on the Philippines’ application by March and that the official announcement of the results may be done in May.

The OIE provides that an area or country may be declared as FMD-free if it has no FMD outbreak, no evidence of FMD virus infection and no vaccination against FMD during the past 12 months of which there is a record of regular and prompt reporting.

The DA has earlier declared the Philippines free of the dreaded FMD that strikes hogs, raising hopes among those in the livestock sector that they would finally be able to export pork products.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap earlier announced that the Philippines has not had any reported outbreaks of FMD since January 1, 2006, the first time in 10 years that the country has been free of the disease.

The DA noted that sporadic outbreaks of the FMD had been reported on animals being imported from Indochina as early as the 1920s with a nationwide outbreak recorded as early as the 1970s.

The FMD scare reached its peak in the 1990s, prompting the government to initiate a program to control and wipe out the disease.

Meanwhile, the Univet Nutrition and Animal Healthcare Co. (Unahco) launched a campaign together with the BAI to help educate swine raisers on biosecurity and swine-disease management.

Unahco officials said “Oplan Iwas Disease” will start in February and that the company will set aside an initial P1 million for the project.

The campaign seeks to educate hog raisers on preventive measures to protect hog farms, especially the backyard or small-scale farms, against harmful disease that impacts on swine production.

Stakeholders in tilapia industry set up Best Farming Practices Club

GUAGUA, Pampanga—Stakeholders in the tilapia industry recently met at the Plates and Platter restaurant in this town to establish the Best Farming Practices (BFP) Club to promote the growth and profitability of the industry.

THE Philippines is now awaiting the approval of the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) for the country’s application to certify Luzon as free from the dreaded foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) that usually strikes hogs.

LOCAL treasurers throughout the country called on the national government not to resort to new taxes in raising its revenue haul and just concentrate on collection efficiency and fiscal discipline, similar to what the Quezon City government has been doing since 2002.

THE Western style of government is no longer working for the Philippines, after most of the Southeast Asian nations have overtaken the country in the past years, and authorities should start thinking of paring some of the democratic powers of the people in exchange of boosting the economy.

THE Department of Justice (DOJ) has backed the bid of Gonzalo Co to take back the control of the multibillion Gonzalo Laboratories Inc., the manufacturer of Green Cross rubbing alcohol and Zonrox laundry bleach, from his siblings and other relatives.

A MILITANT legislator is seeking an investigation into the proposed creation of Quezon City Central Business District (QC-CBD), or the Triangle Park Project, even as he asked the local government to stop packet demolitions in the city.

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—Commuters in this Central Luzon city are denouncing the city government for insisting on opening a common transport terminal on the Gapan-San Fernando-Olongapo (GSO) Road.