Cebu City has begun culling hogs in areas affected by African swine fever as authorities intensify efforts to contain the highly contagious disease and prevent it from spreading to more farms.
At least 52 pigs have been confirmed infected with ASF across the upland barangays of Toong, Buhisan and Pamutan, while 14 others have died, according to the latest local government figures reported by SunStar. Authorities have imposed strict containment measures around the affected areas.
Under the containment protocol, hogs within a 500-meter radius of confirmed infections must be depopulated. Police personnel have also been deployed around the affected barangays to prevent potentially infected animals from being moved in or out.
Cebu City officials have stressed that the movement restrictions are strict as authorities work to prevent the virus from reaching other farms.
The situation has also expanded beyond Cebu City.
Ginatilan, a municipality in southwestern Cebu, confirmed its first ASF cases on September 20 in the upland barangays of Cagsing and Calabawan. Authorities have imposed additional restrictions in affected areas, including controls on livestock movement and the handling of swine products.
The exact source of the Cebu City infections has not yet been established.
Investigators are tracing possible routes through which the virus could have entered the affected communities, including the movement of hogs by traders and agents. Authorities are looking at routes involving Consolacion, Liloan and Lapu-Lapu City, but officials have not identified any particular municipality, trader or supplier as the confirmed source.
The outbreak comes despite preventive restrictions imposed earlier by Cebu authorities on the entry of live hogs and pork products from areas affected by ASF.
The government is also preparing financial assistance for backyard raisers whose animals are being culled. Under the national compensation program, eligible raisers may receive P4,000 per weanling, P8,000 per growing pig and P12,000 per breeder, subject to program requirements and limits. Cebu City is also preparing additional assistance and alternative livelihood programs for affected families.
Authorities have emphasized that the outbreak does not currently mean Cebu is facing a general pork shortage.
The broader supply remains considered adequate, with industry representatives saying Cebu has enough pork to meet demand in the coming months. The more immediate concern is the disruption to the supply of smaller native pigs traditionally used for lechon, particularly because Cebu producers have historically sourced many of these animals from Negros.
Farmgate pork prices in Cebu are currently around P140 to P160 per kilogram of live weight. Producers, however, say prices have remained weak for about a year, partly because of abundant supply and competition from imported pork.
The latest developments have added pressure to Cebu’s hog industry, which is already dealing with disease-control restrictions and the economic impact of culling.
Authorities are continuing laboratory testing and surveillance in and around the affected communities while tracing possible sources of infection.
For affected backyard raisers, the immediate concern is replacing lost livestock and income. For Cebu’s wider pork and lechon industry, the bigger challenge is containing ASF quickly enough to prevent the outbreak from disrupting the province’s livestock supply and traditional lechon trade.
