Dr. Karen Merilles, city veterinarian, said Friday, March 10, 2023, they will meet with meat inspectors and members of the Mandaue City Police Office as well as the City Government for the implementation of border controls.
Last March 8, Mayor Jonas Cortes had issued Executive Order 13 imposing a 30-day ban on the entry of live hogs, boar semen, pork and pork-related products from Carcar City, as well as from the four towns in the buffer zones adjacent to it, after African swine fever (ASF) was detected in Carcar last March 1.
Merilles said they plan to put up checkpoints simultaneously with other local government units (LGUs) that have already launched border control measures, particularly in the south of Cebu Province.
She said they continue to mandate meat inspectors of the Mandaue City Veterinary Office to check stalls in public and satellite markets to see if all have proper documents, particularly a meat inspection certificate from the National Meat Inspection Services.
For slaughterhouses, Merilles said they instructed owners to scan their clients’ documents thoroughly and to look for a veterinary health certificate, certificate of ownership for large animals and a certificate of transportation to ensure they do not receive hogs infected with the African swine fever (ASF).
Need help
Asked if the city will have ample pork supply, Merilles said it will need the help of other LGUs.
She said the city usually gets its pork from the towns of Pinamungajan, Asturias and Mantalongon in Dalaguete, among others.
She pointed out that the city doesn’t get much pork from Carcar City since the latter has few commercial hog farms.
Under the current ASF zoning in Cebu, Mandaue City is in the dark green zone or ASF-free zone, while Carcar City is the only one in the red zone or infected zone.
The Cebu Provincial Government earlier declared the towns of Sibonga, San Fernando, Barili and Aloguinsan as buffer zones and have placed them in the pink zone.
The towns of Argao, Dumanjug, Pinamungajan and the City of Naga are in the yellow zone or surveillance zone, while the towns of Alcantara, Moalboal, Ronda, Badian, Dalaguete, Minglanilla and Toledo City are in the light green zone or protected zone. The rest are in the dark green or ASF-free zones.