DA: Philippine livestock disease-free

The Department of Agriculture (DA) on Thursday said that the Philippines can be one of the major livestock exporters to the Southeast Asian region because it has a distinct epidemiological advantage: it is a country free from animal diseases.

“With the Philippines being free from animal diseases such as foot-and-mouth (FMD) and peste des petits ruminants (PPR) or goat plague, we gain a bright prospect of being a choice country to import meat products from, especially in the integrated Asean market,” Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala said.