DA accelerates ASF vaccination; 65 percent of areas recovered

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the government must step up vaccination to support its hog repopulation program and restore domestic swine production to pre-ASF levels.

STAR / File

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Agriculture (DA) has vaccinated nearly half a million pigs against African swine fever (ASF), while 65 percent of previously affected areas have recovered, marking progress in efforts to rebuild the country’s hog industry after seven years of recurring outbreaks.

Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said the government must step up vaccination to support its hog repopulation program and restore domestic swine production to pre-ASF levels.

“Vaccination must move faster and reach more farms if we are to make our repopulation program work. The goal is not just to contain ASF, but to rebuild the swine industry to where it was before the disease struck,” Tiu Laurel said.

Despite recent growth in the hog industry, the country’s swine population remains well below the approximately 13 million heads recorded in 2019, before ASF began devastating local farms.

Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) director Christian Daquigan reported the DA had administered 499,008 of the 500,000 doses available under its ASF vaccination program from 2024 up to the first half of 2026, equivalent to 99.8 percent utilization.

The campaign covered 54 farms across seven provinces, including 29 commercial operations, 13 semi-commercial farms, 11 smallholder facilities and one government-owned operation.

Tarlac accounted for the largest number of vaccinated pigs at 287,620, followed by Batangas with 92,021 and Bulacan with 88,107. Other covered provinces were Rizal, Laguna, Quezon and Pampanga.

The vaccination effort gained headway on Aug. 27, when the BAI registered Vietnam’s AVAC ASF live vaccine for commercialization in the Philippines.

The agency said vaccination would complement established disease prevention and control measures.

The DA is also strengthening protection at the community level, particularly among backyard hog raisers, through its Community Animal Biosecurity Interventions program.

As of Oct. 22, active infections have remained in 236 barangays across 23 provinces.

However, 716 cities and municipalities have been reclassified as buffer or surveillance zones, accounting for 64.68 percent of previously affected areas.