For two weeks now, the Tribune has been trying to get the side of the Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) that its completed rehabilitation of one of two RORO ramps at San Andres port has been the cause of delays of ferry trips to and from Tabaco port.
The port manager was either in the mainland or recovering from sickness, preventing this paper from validating the issue.
The last time this paper’s reporter contacted the port official, he was referred to the security guard at the Virac port as if the latter is authorized to speak of matters higher than his pay grade.
For about a month now, the ferry from Tabaco has not been able to dock on time at San Andres port as it has to wait for the ship at the remaining ramp to load vehicles and passengers.
According to frequent travelers, this has caused delays of up to one hour or more, leaving the passengers on the waiting ferry as well as those hoping to board the next trip back angry and frustrated.
It is claimed that the rehabilitation of the ramp which began last year was completed sometime in December.
But its turnover and eventual operation is being put on hold probably due to the lack of final inspection and, of course, the obligatory inauguration and turnover which would require the presence of a sitting politician considering that the campaign has already started, albeit unofficially.
Whether the RORO ramp in question has already been put in service, we have yet to verify from the PPA official concerned.
During its construction, this columnist was taking photographs of the work being done on this very ramp when a security guard at the port said taking pictures of the project was prohibited. Was the port management or the contractor hiding something?
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Personnel of the Virac Municipal Agriculture Office conducted the very first depopulation of a hog farm due to the African Swine Fever (ASF) since it was last done in February 2021.
The culling or deliberate killing of infected, potentially infected or contact animals to prevent the disease from spreading was made somewhere in the Pajo area of Virac.
Pursuant to revised guidelines of the Department of Agriculture, depopulation is resorted to if the hogs manifested clinical signs of ASF as certified by a licensed veterinarian and have yielded positive results through a rapid test kit or RT-PCR confirmation.
Supposed to be involved during the actual depopulation are the local agriculture and veterinary offices, the local veterinary authority, and representatives from the DA regional office which will document the culling.
While the revised guidelines provide a higher level of compensation for the hogs to be depopulated, with the loss of a boar or sow compensated with P12,000 each, the same rules limit the number of pigs to be compensated to a maximum of 20 heads per farm.
For the compensation process to begin, there has to be one consolidated depopulation for each barangay to be submitted along with a certification from the veterinarian and laboratory test results, among others.
Then the documents will have to undergo technical validation by the provincial veterinarian, the laboratory and the Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) before being pushed up to the DA regional field office and then to the BAI director, the DA undersecretary for livestock and the DA finance group, which then releases the funds to the regional office for payment to the farmers in cash or check.
Undoubtedly, this process will take months due to the consolidation of the claims. That is probably why the affected hog farmers are being told to expect compensation by December 2025.
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FAIRY TALES. The little girl had just listened to her mother reading one of her favorite fairy tales.
“Mommy,” asked the child, “do all fairy tales begin with ‘Once upon a time…’?”
“No, dearest,” replied the mother. “Sometimes they start with, ‘Darling, I have to work a little late at the office tonight.’”