The mayor of Pilar, Bohol, Wilson Pajo, admitted that he and his local government unit (LGU) were not shared of the confirmatory laboratory test result that showed positive for African swine fever (ASF) by the provincial government.
The test result, which was issued by the Regional Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory (RADDL) in Cebu City, confirmed that samples taken from dead pigs in Pilar were infected with ASF.
Pajo said that he received the test result on August 7, 2023, but he did not receive from the Capitol or the Office of the Provincial Veterinarian (OPVET).
He said that he only informed Governor Aris Aumentado verbally about the ASF outbreak in his town.
Pajo said that he needed to obtain a copy of the test result from the Capitol, even if it was already public knowledge that Pilar was affected by ASF.
He also said that he was following the protocol set by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) in handling the ASF situation.
However, Pajo said that he would “request” a copy of the test result from the Capitol through OPVET, as a courtesy and as an additional basis for implementing more restrictions in his town.
Pilar is one of the four towns in Bohol that have been hit by ASF, along with Ubay, Alicia and Mabini.
The ASF outbreak has caused the death and culling of thousands of pigs in the province, affecting the livelihoods of hog raisers and threatening the food security of Boholanos.
The provincial government has imposed a lockdown on the affected areas to prevent the spread of the disease.