SAN AGUSTIN, Pili, Camarines Sur—The Department of Agriculture (DA) has issued Administrative Circular 12 series of 2019 to implement the National Zoning and Movement Plan for the prevention and control of African swine fever (ASF) to establish zones depending on the level of risks of regions to ASF this January 15, 2020.
This was discussed and presented during the ASF Regional Quick Response Team (RQRT) meeting on January 13, 2020.
According to DA-5 Regional Animal Health Coordinator Dr. Josefina U. Bañadera and National Veterinary Quarantine Service-5 Dr. Roxanne P. Aquino, the zoning plan is one of the internationally recognized strategies recommended by the Office International des Epizooties (OIE) or the World Organization for Animal Health to prevent the spread of any animal disease.
The implementation of the zoning plan during the height of the Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in the Philippines was instrumental in the eradication of the said disease. As such, the DA is again hoping to effectively eradicate the ASF through this zoning plan.
The Administrative Circular 12 stipulated that “the concept of zoning and compartmentalization of the different administration regions in the country based on their common disease status, to protect unaffected area while controlling disease in infected regions, and progressive elevation of infected status to protected, and eventually to free zones, while building-up measure to prevent re-infection”.
Furthermore, the circular showed that “the zones are defined and classified based on geographical limits established by the veterinary authorities upon identification of the infected zone and the quarantine zone”.
Under the zoning plan, provinces and regions would be classified based on their ASF status, which entail corresponding guidelines on the extent that they can transport and sale hogs, pork and pork products.
The different provinces or regions will be classified under two general zones: containment zone and free zones.
The containment zone is further categorized into four zones depending on the area’s ASF status: red (infected zone), yellow (surveillance zone), pink (buffer zone), and light green (protected zone).
Red/Infected zones are areas with confirmed cases of ASF, which include the municipalities of Mapandan and Bayambang in Pangasinan; Nueva Ecija (Cabanatuan City, Palayan City, Quezon, San Isidro, Santa Rosa, Zaragoza, Cabiao and Gapan City); Cavite (Dasmariñas City, Imus City, General Trias and Bacoor); and Rizal (Rodriguez, Antipolo City, San Mateo and Taytay).
The yellow/surveillance zones are provinces that are high-risk areas because of dense population of swine and volume of trade of pig and pork products. The identified provinces include the provinces in Regions 3 and 4A, except Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Rizal and Cavite.
The pink/buffer zone include cities and municipalities adjacent to red/infected zones including ASF-free localities in an infected province like the National Capital Region (NCR) and the rest of Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Rizal and Cavite.
The light green/protected free zones include regions or provinces with no cases of ASF and considered low-risk but are contiguous with yellow zone in terms of land mass. This include Regions 1 except Pangasinan; Region II; CAR; and Region V except Masbate and Catanduanes.
The Dark Green/Free Zones include the entire Visayas and Mindanao, Masbate and Catanduanes because they remain ASF-free in relation to their geographical limit.
The DA also set the zoning and movement guidelines for protected free zone in the Bicol Region (Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay and Sorsogon).
Incoming Live Pigs and Pork Products to mainland Bicol
For live Pigs, those from red and pink zones will not be allowed to enter the region. Swine from the yellow zone will only be allowed if they have a BAI Certificate of Laboratory Compliance as Breeder Farm (CLC); BAI Certificate of Farm Disease Free Status for ASF (BAI-CFDFS); Veterinary Health Certificate (VHC); Shipping Permit (SP) issued by BAI and the Authority to ship (AS) from BAI Director. Those live pigs from light and dark green zones will only be allowed if they have the BAI-CFDFS, VHC and SP.
Genetic materials (breeder pigs, boars, semen) from the red and pink zones will not be allowed to enter the region. However, those from the light and dark green zones will only be allowed if they have the CLC as Breeder Farm, CFDFS, VHC, SP and AS. The genetic materials from ASF-Free countries will also be allowed to be delivered in the region but directly to its destination.
Feeds from red and pink zone will not be allowed. However, feeds from the yellow and green zones will be allowed to enter Bicol Region.
Fresh, chilled, frozen and semi-processed pork, pork products and pork by-products from red, pink and yellow zones will be not allowed to enter the Bicol Region. Those pork products from the green zones will be allowed as long as they have the NMIS (MIC-Local; COMI-imported requirements) and the shipping permit.
Fully cooked pork, pork products and by-products will be allowed to enter the yellow and green zones, but only Fully cooked, Canned products from red and pink zones will be allowed to enter Bicol Region.
Outgoing Live Pigs and Pork Products from mainland Bicol to other regions
Live Pigs from mainland Bicol can be delivered to provinces in the red, pink, yellow and light green zones as long as they will present necessary documents such as Veterinary Health Certificate and Shipping Permit. However, live pigs from red, pink, yellow and light green zones (like Albay, Cam.Norte, Cam. Sur and Sorsogon) will not be allowed to enter the Dark Green Zones like Masbate and Catanduanes.
Provinces included in the red, pink, yellow and light green zones will allow genetic materials (breeder pigs, boars, semen) from mainland Bicol. However, these genetic materials from red, pink, yellow and light green zones (like Albay, Cam.Norte, Cam. Sur and Sorsogon) will not be allowed to enter the Dark Green Zones like Masbate and Catanduanes.
Fresh, chilled, frozen and semi-processed pork, pork products and pork by-products from the Bicol Region will be allowed to reach the provinces in the red, pink, yellow and light green zones. These products will not be allowed to enter the Dark Green Zones.
Fully-cooked pork, pork products and pork by-products from Bicol Region will be allowed to enter the red pink, yellow, light green and dark green zones.
The implementation of a nationwide zoning plan this January 15, 2020 will not interrupt the pork business among ASF-free provinces and will also address the issue of provincial governments imposing bans on the trade and entry of hogs, and pork-products. (jaysonmgonzales)