The Department of Agriculture (DA) said Friday that the pigs in two of the three trucks of hogs intercepted in Quezon City on Thursday tested positive for African Swine Fever (ASF).

All the three trucks were intercepted at the Tandang Sora checkpoint, where the first truck was carrying 60 hogs, then the second truck had 87 pigs and the third truck had 14 others.

The DA said hogs from the first and second trucks tested positive for the ASF while those in the third truck are showing clinical signs of ASF.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the 60 pigs were the first hogs that were seized by the Bureau of Animal Industry after its transporter presented fraudulent documents. The exact origin of the three trucks were still unknown as the documents of the two pigs from two other vehicles were also forged.

"This seizure, which we hope will be the first and last, should be a clear warning to unscrupulous traders that we mean business. We cannot compromise public health, the viability of the local livestock industry, and the country’s food safety and security,” he said.

In response to the threat of animal diseases, particularly the outbreak of ASF in Batangas, the DA set up several checkpoints throughout Quezon City and Valenzuela to curb the spread of diseases and safeguard the livestock and poultry industry in the country.

Assistant Agriculture Secretary for Swine and Poultry Dante Palabrica said that a visual inspection of the pigs will immediately raises suspicion that they are ASF-infected hogs.

“The pigs are undersized and no hog raiser worth his salt would sell them at these weights,” he said.

Pabrica said the infected hogs will be condemned and taken to a central burial site for disposition.

“The blood tests showed the hogs are positive for the ASF virus, so we have no choice but to condemn them and dispose of their carcass at the central burial site we have identified,” he said.

“Trucks have been cleansed and disinfected to ensure they will not spread the virus,” he added. Robina Asido/DMS