Cotabato mulling setting up quarantine checkpoints to prevent bird flu spread

KIDAPAWAN CITY – A member of the provincial council in North Cotabato has strongly recommended the setting up of animal quarantine checkpoints in at least seven entry points to the province to prevent the spread of the avian influenza virus.

Cotabato 3rd District Board Member Socrates Pinol said the quarantine stations will ensure the growing poultry industry in the province won’t be affected by the virus which first hit Pampanga.

Checkpoints would be set up along Tulunan, Cotabato to Datu Paglas, Maguindanao road; Makilala, Cotabato and Barangay Kinuskusan, Bansalan in Davao del Sur; boundary of Carmen, Cotabato and Maramag, Bukidnon; Banisilan, Cotabato and Wao, Lanao del Sur; Pigcawayan, Cotabato and Sultan Kudarat, Maguindanao road; and Riverside Midsayap, Cotabato and Datu Piang, Maguindanao road.

“Although geographically, Cotabato is too far from Pampanga but nobody could tell if the poultry products that have entered in our area are free from the virus,” said Pinol.

The quarantine checkpoints will be established at railroad stations. 

Personnel manning the quarantine must check animals suspected of having the infectious disease for immediate relief.

Inspections are to be conducted upon arrival and departure

The province’s poultry industry, data showed, is flourishing. 

Sadly though, the industry is being threatened by the avian flu outbreak, Pinol said.

North Cotabato is part of Soccsksargen (Region 12). Other areas include the provinces of South Cotabato, Sultan Kudarat, and Sarangani and the cities of General Santos, Koronadal, Tacurong, Kidapawan and Cotabato.

According to data from DA-12 Investment Profile, Soccsksargen Region or Region 12 supplies at least three percent of the country’s poultry requirements. —KG/KVD, GMA News