Metro Manila, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) said it will coordinate with Batangas officials to declare a state of emergency due to the reported outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) in some areas.
“The local government units may need to declare a state of emergency in these Batangas municipalities to enable the DA to respond swiftly to the situation and release funds for the urgent purchase of vaccines,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. was quoted as saying in a statement on Wednesday, Aug. 8.
On July 30, the Food and Drug Administration announced the approval of the certificate of product registration of Vietnam-made AVAC ASF Live Vaccine.
The vaccine is “under monitored release,” according to the FDA, and only the Bureau of Animal Industry can dispense it for a government trial.
The controlled rollout, which will be voluntary, is set by the third quarter.
“Ang rollout, I’m trying Aug. 15 makapag-procure na kami, if possible, but of course, with the government bureaucracy baka umabot ‘yan ng September. Once we have it, banat agad,” Laurel said at the time.
[Translation: For the rollout, I’m trying to procure by Aug. 15, if possible, but of course, with the government bureaucracy, it could take until September. Once we have it, we will immediately roll it out.]
The DA said emergency procurement could shorten the purchase period “by about two weeks.”
At least 10,000 ASF vaccine doses might be needed for the emergency response, the DA said.
The agency is set to draft the resolution to formalize the emergency procurement process.
The Agriculture Department will give industrial lime to Batangas hog producers to treat areas where culled pigs are buried.
The towns of Calatagan and Lobo have recently declared a state of calamity due to the ASF outbreak.
The Lian municipality also issued an executive order to implement preventive and control measures against the virus.
As of July 26, the DA reported that two barangays in Lian, one barangay in Lipa City, and 10 barangays in Lobo have recorded active ASF cases.
