MANILA — Authorities confiscated and burned over 200 kilograms of illegal frozen pork and processed meat products in Boac, Marinduque on Friday to protect the province’s local swine industry from African Swine Fever (ASF).
The operation, led by the Marinduque Provincial Veterinary Office (ProVet) alongside the Boac Philippine National Police (PNP) and Municipal Agriculture Office (MAO), caught a retail store selling 221.13 kilograms of unlabelled, imported frozen pork and processed items without proper municipal permits.
Following inspection, authorities transferred the seized items to a designated pit, where they were burned in the presence of the store owner and police officers as witnesses.
A ProVet investigation revealed that the store operated without a License to Operate (LTO), Business Permit, Certificate of Meat Inspection (COMI), or Food and Drug Administration (FDA) permit—violating the Meat Inspection Code of the Philippines and Provincial Executive Order No. 16, Series of 2019.
Marinduque Provincial Veterinarian Dr. JM Victoria reiterated that entry of uncertified pork into the island remains strictly prohibited to prevent an ASF outbreak, assuring the public that authorities will sustain strict monitoring and crack down on non-compliant merchants across the province.
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