Mindanao Development Authority (MinDA) has asked help from the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) in the enforcement of quarantine measures for African swine fever (ASF) in the island.
In a letter addressed to DILG Secretary Eduardo Año and Philippine National Police (PNP) chief, Gen. Oscar Albayalde, MinDA Chairman Emmanuel Piñol requested the involvement of policemen to ensure stricter implementation of the ASF Quarantine Protocols.
A MinDA press statement released on Tuesday said Piñol requested the immediate deployment of members of the PNP to various quarantine stations established by the local government unit amid reports that hogs, pork, and processed pork products are still being transported despite the temporary ban.
The move to engage policemen in enforcing the ban came following reports that the ASF, which was earlier reported in provinces of Rizal and Bulacan, has spread to Pangasinan because a number of meat traders have continued trading despite the outbreak.
Piñol recalled that policemen and Army units were also engaged during the Avian Influenza (AI) outbreak in Pampanga and Nueva Ecija in 2017.
He noted that the involvement of policemen and Army soldiers helped the government in preventing the spread of AI, which was placed under control in just one month.
Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte and several other local chief executives in the island have already issued executive orders enforcing a temporary ban on the shipment of live hogs, pork and other processed pork products.
“The lack of manpower led several LGU executives to ask for police support in manning quarantine checkpoints,” Duterte noted in an earlier statement. (PR)
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