Sen. Cynthia A. Villar calls the attention of the Department of Agriculture on the deadline for the construction of first border facilities in the country which, she has observed, is not moving. Presiding over the Finance Subcommittee B briefing on Friday, October 11, 2024, on the proposed 2025 budgets of the Department of Agriculture and its attached agencies and corporations, Villar said the hog farmers have been suffering a lot every time the African swine fever (ASF) hits the country and the first border facility is the only way to stop the ASF from entering the country.
The senator also reminded DA officials that there should be no exemption from the border facilities. “Everybody should go to first border facility. No exemption. Because when we put an exemption, that's another source of corruption,” Villar said, noting that those who are not exempted would be forced to bribe authorities to be exempted from passing through the border facilities. “That defeats the purpose of controlling ASF. I want to be clear with that,” she added.
The DA is targeting to start the operations of first border control facilities for imported animal and plant products by early 2025. The first of five CEFAs or Cold Examination Facility for Agriculture is being constructed in Angat, Bulacan. A CEFA is a sanitary/phytosanitary inspection facility for imported animal, fish, plant, and other agricultural products. (Senate Public Relations and Information Bureau)
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