The Iloilo Provincial Government has set aside P40 million for its response efforts to contain the spread of the highly contagious African Swine Fever (ASF).
Governor Arthur Defensor Jr. said a portion of the amount is allocated for financial aid to ASF-affected farmers.
The provincial government will also provide P300,000 to local government units (LGUs) that will hold their own versions of the Pork Festival.
The Pork Festival aims to “hasten the depopulation of hogs” in areas hit by ASF. It “contains prevention, containment, depopulation and recovery strategies,” according to Defensor.
“Again this is not just a pork eating festival. This is about those four areas. First is we will do everything so that the red and the pink zone will not widen,” he explained.
Red (Infected) Zones are “municipalities or cities with confirmed outbreaks of ASF” while Pink Zones are “those cities or municipalities where ASF is not detected but demarcated immediately around the red zone when an area has been confirmed as an infected zone.”
ASF cases were recorded in the towns of Oton, San Miguel, Leganes, Alimodian, Sta. Barbara, Mina and New Lucena.IMT
