Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson said on Friday, June 16, that hog raisers who did not properly dispose of their dead pigs will not be given assistance by the provincial government.
The pig deaths from various ailments reached 13,107 or 9.16 percent of Negros Occidental’s hog population on Friday, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz said.
This has affected 2,539 hog raisers in 136 barangays in 17 local government units, who have suffered losses of P147,531,350, the Provincial Veterinary Office reported.
The provincial government is allocating an initial P10 million in assistance to affected hog raisers, Lacson said.
Each hog raiser is expected to receive P2,000.
The assistance will be given directly to the hog raisers affected, Lacson said.
The recipients of the assistance are still being identified, he said, “because one of the conditions is we will not help those that did not properly dispose of their dead pigs, especially those who just threw them in rivers.”
The disposal of the pigs in rivers aggravated the situation, he said, in reference of the spread of the hog virus through the water system.
“We don’t want to include them amongst those that will receive (aid) because they did not cooperate,” the governor said.
The provincial government has also been distributing free range chickens to affected hog raisers for alternative livelihood, Diaz said.*