Cebu City (CNN Philippines, March 29) — Cebu Governor Gwen Garcia on Wednesday filed complaints against five officials of the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) over their handling of the African Swine Fever (ASF) in the province.
Capitol lawyers lodged before the Visayas Ombudsman complaints of graft, corruption, and other violations against agency officials tasked with regulating the movement of livestock related to the disease.Among the respondents were BAI Director Paul Limson, Deputy Program Coordinator Samuel Joseph Castro, and BAI coordinator on ASF Joshua Cruz.Local BAI officials based in Cebu were also tagged as respondents, including Dr. Miriam Lopez Vito of the BAI Regional Veterinary Quarantine Station and Dr. Daniel Ventura Jr., the Department of Agriculture Central Visayas Coordinator on ASF.The governor specifically accused the parties of violating Republic Act (RA) 7160, also known as the Local Government Code, RA 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act, and the New Civil Code.The BAI regional veterinary quarantine station in Central Visayas declined to make a comment on the accusations of Garcia, while BAI Regional Veterinary Quarantine Station staff Carmela Amolot said chief Lopez was “on leave” and that no one was authorized to speak on behalf of the office.Garcia complained that the BAI had proclaimed the existence of ASF in Carcar City without doing a differential diagnosis to confirm the presence of the virus.She said that despite this, the BAI carried out its culling protocols, which caused “a great loss to the livelihood of hog raisers.
The governor previously ordered the suspension of culling of pigs in Carcar City and Metro Cebu, as she doubted there was ASF infection in the two areas.
“Despite my orders, BAI personnel continued to implement their culling and zoning map policy to the prejudice of the hog raisers, not only in the City of Carcar, but in the whole province of Cebu,” Garcia wrote in her complaint.
“BAI also insists that there is an ASF outbreak in the Province of Cebu and the culling policy is the most effective way to contain the virus,” she added. “This side-sweeping statement of the BAI has immediate impact on the livelihood of the Cebuanos.Garcia further stated that the BAI did not collaborate with the concerned local government in the implementation of the ASF programs as required under RA 7160.Clearly, without the slightest care and caution, and without even thinking that property and livelihood are at stake, respondents evidently just implemented a policy to get their tasks done and over with quickly albeit poorly,” the governor stressed.
