FRTDAY SEPTEMBER 20' 2019

DA,...
AI
out
mA, [J"[.! rule
Frcm

Thursdav and found that the prevailing

prices
ni oork'".r" stable ranging frorn P200 lo
barr mrt raw purk p2i0- but rendors said that public fear tron
the virus was affecting pork demand'
""
or"ron Cit" Mayor Joy Belmonte' for
By Othel V. Campos h"i patt. ota"i.a fo, tu'nplts lo be taken
anti lVtariccl V, Crur hogs inLa Loma
''lour]odo.rty
from
and we
there is quite big
'lllI liadc ritd Agricuhure deport- have 1o protecr our business there lhat ls
rnerrts ou Thulsclul' assured the public whv I asked for samples to be taken lrom
lhul iilv 1lot( willr certificaLiols liom iheie as well just so we can reassure the
ll.. '.i.tiur:tl \l(irl ln.pccliull 5cr\icr oublic." Belmonte said'
''
aud plocessed polk products tiom lr the same rime, a parly-list lawmaker
the out-
t|LisLccl bta[tls welc sai'e lo consune sousht a congressional inquiry into
lr""-[ nri.u" swine ferer in Rizal and
arrcl shoultl tol l)c bittttrcd il supetmarr "f Provinces.
Bulacan
Lct!i ilnd \"{j1 rniLtliets.
Partv-isr Rep Argel Cabatbat of Magsa-
llLrtlr dep|lrtli1e]r1s al]d the Natjolll sat<a. Jlo suspecs tlar potk smuggling
is Lhe
l'oo(l 1\uthorily urcuitoreclthe prices oi cause of*te oult ealc filed House Resolution
poili proclllr:is irt liiLt lrcts Ma (et, Nlega irirlreine the Hou.e comminee on Agicul-
Q I\'lart. urld Krmnl}ing PLrblic Market hre an:d F-ood to took into the outbreak
-h is resoonsibility of t]le government
r.he
Nexl Poge $e li\ e-
ro uke all act ions necessary rc prolect
iihood of ow hog raisen and *re hog bdusry
n u
Tp.tr PAo€ as a

'
whole;'Cabatbat lold a news conterence'
::We suspect that the cause of the infec-
tion is smuggling," he added
ih" o.iitt..n, of Agriculture. earlier
a""tur.a o'utUr"at of tbe'disease in Gui-
- gili"t", Bulacaq Roddguez, Rizal' atrd
AntiDolo City.
iiiniturtu.'t+ of Ihe 20 blood samples
to
from pigs in suspected areas were found
i. poiliiu. ror.lttl.- swine fever, accord-
ins to the DA
"Th" ."moles *ere collected ftom hogs in
wbere
three baBngays in rhe Rizalprovince
arouDd 100 Pigs died last month'
--
ile ne eitier imposed a ban on pork
imports ftom countries with recorded cases
ofASF like China.
"How did this enter the countr)4 There are
many ways. It may have been brought in inad-
venenrlv when a canier ofthe disease comlng
ftom a;on-ameded area entered tbe country'
but this is very remote." Cabatbat said'
i'TJar is'whY we suspect that Poik
smuggling is the reason-" he added'
ii'i'atuit tL."ts"a lis pany-list $oup be-
lieves 'iwe can do that to prevent the entry of
ttre disease tbrough legai or illegal means'"
Meanwhile' processed and semi-process-
poit m"ut uiunas tound in supermarkels
", were cenified by the Food
"t6-nio".ri"t
lna'orug ndmlnisuation' hence' safe rc
consume
dannea meat ana notdogs are cooked'
tft"..-oioauatt are safe to consume and
.".i i"t t. banoed Most of the local
mem-
canned meat wele produced by the
u"tt oi il" p.o""t.ia Meat Association of
the Philippines Irlc'