By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
Lechon (roast pig) sales in Bacolod City remain unaffected, despite the city being tagged as a “red zone” for African swine fever (ASF) after logging its first cases last week.
Bobby Badayos, leader of a lechon vendors association in Bacolod, said the sales of the popular Filipino pork delicacy remain normal as of yesterday.
Badayos said they can assure the consumers that the roasted hogs are safe for consumption.
They got their hogs from Negros Occidental’s Isabela town, while some got their supplies from Don Salvador Benedicto town.
He said lechon vendors have recently seen a hike in live hog prices.
The increase is due to a price hike in hog feeds, and not because of ASF or hog cholera, which has also become prevalent in the province, he said.
“Ang pagkuha namon supply outside Bacolod, ang source namon is Isabela kag Magallon [Moises Padilla]. So far, daw waay man kami balita nga naging hot spot sila for ASF or hog cholera,” Badayos said.
He said the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO) was not negligent in their duties, as hog shipments could encounter as many as four to five checkpoints when transporting supplies from central Negros to Bacolod.
Badayos said they fully support the PVO when it comes to its stringent and stricter protocols in the movement of hogs, as lechon vendors too do not want sick hogs to get mixed up with healthy ones.
They also assure the quality of lechon they are selling to consumers.
However, Badayos said they are concerned that the recent ASF cases recorded in the city will spread further.
He told his association members to immediately report if they encounter problems with the hogs they are raising.
He said the PVO and the City Veterinary Office have coordinated with them, and all of their members are complying with regulations.
Bacolod was classified as an ASF “red zone,” based on the provincial government’s ASF zoning map over the weekend.
The Negros Occidental cities of Bago and Talisay, and Murcia town were tagged as “pink buffer zones,” while the cities of La Carlota and Silay, and the towns of Pulupandan, Valladolid, Don Salvador Benedicto, and E.B. Magalona were tagged as “yellow surveillance zones.”
The rest of the province remains ASF-free./DGB, WDJ