SABANGAN, MOUNTAIN PROVINCE – Sabangan records zero cases of African Swine Fever (ASF) for the first semester of 2023 as its Local Government Unit (LGU) continues to implement and strengthen the “Bantay ASF sa Barangay” (BABay ASF) Program.
BABay ASF is a community-based program that includes preventive measures, detection, and monitoring of ASF with the cooperation and support of LGU stakeholders and local hog raisers. A designated Barangay Bio-security Officers (BBOs) is assigned per barangay to submit a weekly report on ASF monitoring.
Sabangan is composed of 15 barangays where the source of livelihood is derived from farming, hog raising and others. The municipality is one of the producers of pork products here in Mountain Province. According to the Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO)- Sabangan, 1,939 or 80% out of 2,424 of the total household population are swine raisers.
Impacts of ASF
According to Joel C. Faroden, Municipal Agriculturist of Sabangan, five percent of the pigs were suspected of having ASF in the municipality in 2022. He added that the outbreak of ASF has positive and negative effects in the locality.
“Bad points lahat ng traders ayaw bilhin iyong affected na baboy so ibig sabihin may surplus sa production. May mga hog raisers na ayaw na nilang mag-alaga. Good points doon sa barangay na hindi natamaan parang tumaas ang presyo. (The negative effect would be the surplus in production because traders are being turned down in the market. There are also hog raisers who stopped raising pigs. Meanwhile, in the unaffected barangay the pig’s market price went high.)”
He then encouraged all farmers in Sabangan to know that their office is open for any inquiries and is ready to help farmers with assistance related to agriculture.
Moreover, according to one of the severely affected hog raisers in Barangay Lagan, Joey Puguon shared his story of condemning his 17 live pigs for being suspected of having ASF.
“As a farmer, dakedakel nga loss kanyami, nanayunan ti utang nga naususar ti panangtaraken. (As a farmer, [it is] a big financial loss for us; we are in debt because of inputs used in hog raising.)”
Interventions against ASF
In response to this issue, Mayor Marcial Jr. C. Lawilao released Executive Order No. 15 Series of 2021, an order declaring the adoption and implementation of the “Bantay ASF sa Barangay” or the “BABay ASF Program”, further creating the Municipal ASF task force in the Municipality of Sabangan, Mt. Province. It aims to strengthen and institutionalize LGU engagement in the implementation of the Bantay ASF Program.
This includes banning swine and other pork by-products coming from outside provinces. In addition, massive information dissemination in the community is also conducted through IEC materials to prevent the spread of ASF.
In addition, Mayor Lawilao also released Executive Order No. 15-A Series of 2021, “An Order Amending Executive Order No. 15, S. 2021 to Include the Registration and Deputization of the Barangay Biosecurity Officers (BBOs) in the Municipality of Sabangan, Mountain Province.
Moreover, continuous monitoring through the Barangay Biosecurity Officer was implemented through sample collection, regular disease monitoring, and immediate reporting of ASF. Faroden added that, “At least ang mga tao nalalaman at naaupdate sila sa ASF. (At least the people are aware and updated about ASF.)”
Puguon also shared his experience managing the spread of ASF. “Being a farmer, nga agtartaraken, no adda iti babuyam dapat maymaysa ti agpakan. I-separate mo dyay boots mo nga umuneg sin babuyam. Dapat din babuyam close to cover net, avoid entries of uster animals. Practice nga kanayon nga nadalos ken agdisinfect. (Being a farmer having a piggery, it is better that only one [individual] should feed the pigs, separate the boots you used inside the piggery, close to cover net, keep uster animals from entries, clean and disinfect equipment and premises.)”
He then left a statement emphasizing that “prevention is better than cure.” By Karylle P. Piaga
