Cebu Provincial Veterinarian Rose Vincoy wants quarantine officers assigned at the Bogo City and San Remegio town wharfs in north Cebu that accommodate vessels coming from Luzon as a deterrent to the possible entry of bird flu virus in the province.
The Pulambato wharf in Bogo City and the Hagnaya wharf in the neighboring San Remigio town serve as docking area for vessels that serve routes from north Cebu to Masbate City.
At the same time, Vincoy said, there is a need to require shippers of food products to present employees’ health certificates before they should be allowed to unload their goods at the two ports.
“It is not enough for us to say that poultry products are now safe for human consumption. We need to have these preventive measures to ensure our safety,” she said.
Vincoy said the same proposals were also raised in a meeting which she attended on Saturday with other Cebu veterinarians, government officials and public and private sector participants to discuss bird flu threats to Cebu.
However, she is still awaiting approval from Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III and the Department of Agriculture’s Bureau of Animal Industry (Dabai) on its implementation.
She said that Dabai will also have to determine how many personnel will be assigned as inspectors in the two north Cebu wharfs.