Gov’t prepares for ASF threat ahead of La Niña

Concerned government agencies are preparing for the possible prevalence of various diseases among humans and livestock ahead of the La Niña phenomenon, which is expected to bring intense rain and flooding.

Ivan Mayrina reported Sunday on 24 Oras Weekend that the effects of flooding on the spread of ASF will also be tackled.

The Batangas local government had declared a state of calamity due to the  increasing cases of ASF in the province. 

State weather bureau PAGASA said the onset of La Niña would begin between mid-September and November. 

“Kapag magigigng aggravating factor ang bagyo, pagbabaha, at ang ulan sa  pagkalat ng disease whether sa livestock o sa mga tao, definitely  pag-uusapan,” said Presidential  Communications Office Calamities and Disasters spokesperson Assistant Secretary Joey Villarama.

(We are going to talk about how storms, flooding, and rains can aggravate factors in the spread of diseases whether to  livestock or people.)

The Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura  (SINAG) called for stricter monitoring of hogs at checkpoints and vaccination centers before the La Niña begins.

“Ang  importante is yung biosecurity and yung checkpoint natin. Dapat ayusin  at bantayan ang pagtransport ng mga baboy to other places,” SINAG  President Resendo So said.

(Looking out for our biosecurity and checkpoint is important. The transportation of pigs to other places  should be arranged and monitored.)

In a dam and flood conference, government agencies agreed to improve the early warning systems, the use of communication systems to send warnings on dam openings, and the more active participation of local government units in information dissemination.

President Ferdinand  "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. had said the government needed to improve warnings when releasing excess water from dams. 

“Kailangan single at unified yung source of information para hindi malito yung mga tao. The importance of local government units (LGU) in disseminating the information and instruction,” Villarama said.

(There should be a single and unified source of information to avoid confusing the people. The importance of LGUs in disseminating the information and  instructions.)

He added that the government had a budget of P15 billion for national risk reduction management this year. — Mariel Celine Serquiña/DVM, GMA Integrated News