Provincial Veterinarian Dr. Darel Tabuada is leading the charge in Iloilo’s fight to recover from African swine fever (ASF), as the Department of Agriculture (DA-6) expands its swine sentineling protocol to nine more municipalities after a promising pilot run in Oton.

Tabuada confirmed that almost all of the 72 sentinel piglets distributed to selected farmers in Oton last year survived, a strong indication that the ASF virus is no longer present in the area.

“It means that in their environment, there are no longer traces of the African swine fever virus,” he said.

The expanded program will now include 181 farmers from Zarraga, New Lucena, Mina, Janiuay, Dingle, Banate, Barotac Viejo, and Batad.

Each beneficiary will be provided with one piglet, starter and grower feeds, multivitamins, and antibiotics to ensure proper care during the 45-day observation period.

Tabuada said that Oton is already a candidate for reclassification to the yellow (surveillance) zone. However, the province will wait for results from the nine newly added towns before finalizing the required documents for submission.

The provincial government, under Tabuada’s guidance, is also running its own ASF recovery program, allocating ₱10.03 million to help local governments purchase 1,672 piglets for 836 farmers across 14 municipalities.

Piglet distribution is complete in Barotac Viejo, Sta. Barbara, San Miguel, Zarraga, Oton, and Mina, with procurement still ongoing in New Lucena, Dingle, Banate, Concepcion, Lambunao, Janiuay, Batad, and Dumangas.

Tabuada stressed that the DA’s Integrated National Swine Production Initiatives for Recovery and Expansion (INSPIRE) program will be a game-changer for Iloilo’s hog industry.

Currently operational in Sta. Barbara and Bingawan, the program is being set up in New Lucena and in 15 other sites, each designed to accommodate about 300 hogs.

Three commercial farms are also receiving government support.

“If these inputs of the Department of Agriculture will become successful, especially its INSPIRE program, and our commercial farms will become fully operational, hopefully, we can see that our swine inventory in the province will stabilize,” Tabuada said.

With coordinated efforts from the provincial veterinary office, DA programs, and local governments, Iloilo hopes to move closer to reclaiming its status as a leading hog-producing province in Western Visayas.IMT