By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The African swine fever (ASF) Task Force of the Negros Occidental Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) will start implementing penalties for those who would smuggle pork and pork products into the province.

PVO acting head Dr. Placeda Lemana said under the provincial ordinance, smugglers will be fined not less than P1,000 but not more than P5,000, and six months but not more than one year of imprisonment.

In Bacolod City, Lemana said the penalty is P2,000 for the first offense, P3,000 for the second offense, and P5,000 for the third offense.

Lemana said her call to impose the penalties for those caught violating the ASF ordinance of the province comes after a rise in pork and pork products seized by the Joint Provincial and City Task Force at the ports of entry, especially at the two ports located in Bacolod City.

Data from the PVO showed that a total of 402.55 kilos of pork and pork products worth P167,671 were seized from BREDCO and Banago ports and another 20 kilos were seized from the Bacolod-Silay Airport in their operation from November 7 to 18.

Lemana said seized items include cooked pork dishes, processed meat products, and raw pork brought in by individual passengers.

She said there is a need for the information campaign to be intensified as prohibited products continue to arrive in Negros Occidental even after a month when the ban was enforced.

“We are conducting a massive information dissemination since we need to protect our hog industry,” she said./DGB, WDJ