Following the approval of the President, the Department of Budget and Management released PhP82.5 million to the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Animal Industry on September 10, 2019. This amount covers the funding requirements for the African Swine Fever (ASF) preventive measures.

ASF is a highly contagious hemorrhagic viral disease of pigs, warthogs, European wild boar and American wild pigs. As part of the Philippine prevention strategies on the on-going ASF threat, the BABES strategy has been implemented since the start of the outbreak in China, described as follows: (1) Banning pork imports, (2) Avoiding swill feeding, (3) Blocking entry of hand-carried meat, (4) Educating the people, and (5) Submitting lab samples.

Of the PhP82.5 million released amount, PhP31.8 million will be for Maintenance of Security for Detection of Meat and Meat products at the International Airports, PhP27.7 million will be for testing of samples of meat and meat products, PhP17.6 million will be for surveillance and monitoring, and PhP5.4 million will be for Awareness Campaign and Capacity Building. 

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For inquiries, further questions and requests for interview, please contact Hazel Intia.