(PNA file photo)
BACOLOD CITY – The Negros Occidental provincial government is set to release financial assistance to more than 4,000 families with reported swine deaths due to hog cholera and other animal diseases.
With a budget of PHP10 million, Provincial Administrator Rayfrando Diaz II said on Thursday that each family will receive PHP2,000 cash aid to be released either in the first or second week of July.
"We have talked to the Provincial Veterinary Office. We will finalize the list of target beneficiaries until tomorrow (June 30) then we will submit it to Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson for approval," he told reporters.
Diaz said the beneficiary must not have any violation of animal biosafety protocols.
"If you just threw away your dead hog and did not bury it, we do not encourage that. You will not be given assistance," he added.
As of Wednesday afternoon, losses due to swine deaths in Negros Occidental have already reached around PHP168 million, data from the Provincial Animal Biosecurity Incident Management Team showed.
Mortalities include almost 15,000 heads reported in 18 out of 31 local government units in the province. (PNA)
