RESIDENTS of Malolos town in Bulacan get their share of lechon during the Lechon Festival on Monday to assure the public that hog meat from Bulacan are safe to eat and hog cholera has been eradicated. --NONOY LACZA

CITY OF MALOLOS—A “lechon Festival” was held Monday at the Hiyas ng Bulacan Convention Center in this city to assure consumers that hog meat from Bulacan province is safe to eat.

Bulacan Gov. Joselito “Jon-Jon” Mendoza, together with members of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan, personnel of the provincial agriculture office, health office and provincial veterinary office were served breakfast consisting of rice and lechon Monday at the Hiyas ng Bulacan Convention Center.

Mendoza said the event is a symbolic gesture to show that hog meat from Bulacan is safe to eat, adding that 50 pigs were randomly picked from different backyard raisers, roasted and served as breakfast to personnel of the provincial government, including those from the health and agriculture offices.

“Let’s not be afraid to eat hog meat because it’s 100 percent safe,” said Mendoza.

Of the more than 3,000 hogs affected by the swine flu and cholera, most of them have recovered from the disease.

He added that the disease that earlier hit some piggeries, mostly by backyard raisers, has been contained after the provincial veterinary office distributed vaccines to affected hog farmers.

At the same time, Mendoza said a provincial task force continues to monitor the shipment of hogs from farms to slaughterhouses and to the markets to ensure that no “double dead” meat are being slipped out.

He said dead hogs should be buried or burned because it is no longer fit for public consumption.

“We are very strict in monitoring the hogs that are shipped out. Only those with permits and health certification from authorized meat inspectors are allowed to ship out,” he said.               

Some 400 kilos of hot meat that were intercepted in Sta. Maria town last week were immediately condemned and burned, he added.

Provincial veterinarian Dr. Felipe Bartolome said the “hog flu and cholera” that hit Bulacan in the past weeks have now been contained after massive vaccinations were done to cure the affected swine.

“We continue to monitor and give out vaccines,” Baltolome said.

Records from the veterinary office, Mendoza said, show that the total swine population of Bulacan is pegged at around 1.1 million at any given day and 70 percent of them are raised on a commercial level and only 30 percent are raised on a backyard scale.

The hog disease reportedly affected only less than 0.3 percent of the total swine population in the province and is not considered a threat to the hog industry of Bulacan, the governor said, adding that badly affected sector was the backyard raisers.

To help the affected backyard swine raisers recoup their losses, Mendoza said the provincial government would conduct a pig dispersal program. 

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DA says hog cholera in Bulacan eradicated 

By Jennifer Ng

Reporter 

THE Department of Agriculture (DA) has declared that the hog cholera that struck the hog population in Bulacan has been eradicated due to the immediate response of the DA and the local government.

Agriculture Secretary Arthur C. Yap said while the disease hit the hog population in certain areas in Bulacan, there was no outbreak as only less than 1 percent of the 1 million hogs in Bulacan were affected by the disease.

The DA noted that of the 5,079 heads that were affected, only 500 hogs died.

“Hog raisers in the provinces have already been given appropriate vaccines and medicines to stop the disease from spreading,” said Yap.

To prevent the spread of the disease to other areas, the DA has intensified its quarantine checkpoints in all entry and exit points in Bulacan.

Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) officer-in-charge Davinio Catbagan, for his part, revealed that the DA released 5,000 doses of hog cholera vaccines in an effort to contain its spread.

Catbagan also urged hog raisers to vaccinate hogs properly to prevent the recurrence of hog cholera.

Yap has ordered all DA officials to step up its efforts to prevent the spread of the disease.

The DA chief advised hog raisers to dispose properly dispose of carcasses by burying or burning them. The DA is urging hog raisers to thoroughly clean and disinfect affected areas.

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