No need to worry about African swine fever – Palace

Malacañang on Monday said that pork was safe to eat despite the Department of Agriculture’s (DA's) confirmation that African swine fever caused the deaths of several pigs in areas near Metro Manila.

Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo gave the assurance after he was told during a news conference that Agriculture Secretary William Dar, Health Secretary Francisco Duque III and members of the hog industry had a "boodle fight" on Monday morning.

Duque said the objective of the boodle fight was to show the public that pork was safe to consume as long as it was purchased from trusted meat vendors and was properly cooked.

“Ibig sabihin safe. I think there is no need to worry considering that the DA Secretary has not cautioned us not to eat or to avoid,” Panelo said.

Panelo also revealed that he had pork for breakfast.

“The fact alone na kumain yung mga secretaries and me, siguro wala naman nangyari sa akin, lalo yata ako naging healthy,” he quipped.

The President's spokesperson added that the DA would take all the necessary measures to ensure that the public was safe from ASF.

Dar confirmed that 14 of the 20 blood samples from deceased pigs tested positive for African swine fever following tests conducted by a laboratory in the United Kingdom.

The DA Secretary explained that the hogs could have been infected either through canned meats sent by overseas Filipino workers and thus through swill feeding.

In August, the DA placed three barangays in Rizal under quarantine after around 100 hogs died in the area.

The Bureau of Animal Industry also surveilled the area 7-kilometers radius from the affected areas, limited animal movement, and implemented mandatory disease reporting from farm owners within a 10-kilometer radius.

The Antipolo City Health Office also culled more than a thousand pigs on the suspicion that the animals were infected. — DVM, GMA News