The Negros Occidental provincial government has formed an incident command system that will respond to and manage the threats to biosecurity of the local animal industry.

In Executive Order (EO) 23-19 released on Tuesday night, May 16, Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson directed the activation of the incident command system and the composition of the management team, which he leads as the responsible officer together with Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II as the action officer, and Dr. Placeda Lemana, acting provincial veterinarian, as the incident commander.

“The province has been confronted with reports of animal biosecurity threats, posing a significant public health nuisance to the communities and adversely impacting the livestock industry of the province,” Lacson said.

Teams of the incident command system include those for quick response, quarantine, enforcement and security, surveillance, depopulation, disposal and decontamination, recovery and legal matters.

In EO 23-19, the governor also directed the 31 local government units in the province to heighten patrol of seaports, transportation terminals and borders, and set up intra-border checkpoints on the main highways of the borders.

The Philippine National Police and the Philippine Coast Guard were also requested to deploy K-9 units in areas identified by the incident management team to monitor animal biosecurity threats.

Earlier, Lacson presided over an emergency meeting with the local chief executives and officials of concerned departments to discuss the province’s animal biosecurity measures and current hog disease situation.

In the past weeks, more than 2,000 heads of swine have already died across the province due to hog cholera although Negros Occidental is still free of African swine fever. (PNA)