by Mark Nelson De Leon
A customer paying for the pork she brought amidst African Swine Fever.
Government agencies in the Cordillera Administrative Region (CAR) reminded the public that it is safe to eat pork and other meat products transported in the city.
Dr. Brigit Piok, the city veterinarian of Baguio City Veterinary Office, said that the city’s quarantine checkpoints are not limited to live pigs but to all animals.
“We don’t allow any sick animals [to enter the city] without health certificate and shipping permit,” Piok said in an interview.
According to the Bureau of Animal Industry- National Veterinary Quarantine Services Division- CAR (BAI-NVQS-CAR) Regional Veterinary Quarantine Officer Delfina Lagayan, there are lists of ASF free and ASF infected areas in the quarantine checkpoints to help in monitoring and regulating the transport of animals in the province.
“We regulate the transport of the animals and animal products through documents and checkpoints,” Lagayan added.
Also, the staff from National Meat Inspection Service- CAR (NMIS-CAR) are currently deployed to different quarantine checkpoints to provide assistance in monitoring.
“Our staff are dispatched to Ifugao, Kalinga, Apayao and are attentive to the situation,” NMIS-CAR regional director Lilia Juliana Fermin stated in a press conference held by DA-CAR, Feb. 19.
Meanwhile, these animals that entered the city are directly transported to the storage area located in the slaughterhouse beside the city veterinary office.
"There are regular enforcement [of the meat inspectors] in slaughterhouses however more extreme now," Fermin added.
Once butchered, meats are delivered to the city market where they undergo meat inspection.
“May mga meat inspector na nagchecheck ng mga meat sa palengke every day,” Piok assured.
Price hike on meat
Meat stalls in Baguio City Public Market.
As of today, the price of pork in the city market raised from 10 to 20 pesos per kilo caused by the lockdown of some main suppliers from Pangasinan and Tarlac affecting the supply of pork in the market.
“Medyo hirap kasi sa pagpasok ng Baguio [ang mga baboy] pero as long as maayos yung papers okay sila,” said Nancy Alabanza, the president of Baguio City Market Authority in an interview.
[It’s quite hard for live pigs to enter Baguio but as long as there are [authorized] paper, it’s fine.]
However, even though there are complete papers, the delivery of live pigs from nearby towns takes place twice a week only.
According to Alabanza, the prices for fish and chicken meat also raised per kilo.
In addition, all provinces in Cordillera are self-sufficient when it comes to animal meats except Baguio meaning it relies on meat supplies from the outside of the city.
“Based on PSA (Philippine Statistics Authority), all of the provinces [in Cordillera] are self-sufficient. However in Baguio, pork is supplied from outside Baguio since backyard pig raising is not allowed in the city,” explained Odsey.
Edited by Kate Paulyne Tayco