ALABEL, Sarangani (March 23, 2022) – Cherry Mae Lagman, administrative aide of the office of the municipal agriculturist (OMAG), and Redimto Hinoctan, technical assistant of the provincial veterinary office (PVet), prepare undocumented pork products for proper disposal on March 15 as part of the intensified campaign to curb the spread of the African Swine Fever (ASF) in the province. The operation was a joint effort of the Office of the Provincial Agriculturist, OMAG and PVet in accordance with Executive Order No. 1 series of 2020 issued by Governor Steve Chiongbian Solon to temporarily lock down all the entry points of the province from all live hog, imported/local pork and pork-related products and by-products, whether raw, processed or cooked including frozen boar semen. In a report disclosed by Dr. Bernard Cababat, provincial veterinarian, at around 10:46 pm on March 14, boxes of pork chorizo and lumpia with an estimated amount of P8,000 was confiscated at the ASF checkpoint in Barangay Maribulan. According to Cababat, the said products have no permit for shipping that prohibits its entry into the premises of Sarangani. As of this writing, six out of the 11 barangays in the province with reported cases of ASF are still in the process of the sentinelling program or the science-based approach that ascertains if a virus or disease is still present in an area recorded to be infected, to finally achieve the ASF-Free zone. (Jake Narte-Joshua John Pantonial/SARANGANI PROVINCIAL INFORMATION OFFICE)