BACOLOD CITY: The city veterinarian of Bacolod stood firm on her decision to burn the 240,000 eggs worth P1.4 million intercepted by authorities without permits at the Bredco Port on Sunday.City veterinarian Dr. Maria Agueda de la Torre said the eggs were burned and buried to protect the poultry industry of Negros Occidental and Bacolod City from the avian influenza, also known as bird flu.This comes on the heels of the social media post of Victorias City Mayor Javier Miguel 'Javi' Benitez, who expressed his dismay that the confiscated eggs were destroyed.

In a Facebook post, the mayor wrote in Hiligaynon dialect: 'Kanugon sang pagsunog sang 240,000 nga itlog o 8,000 trays worth P1.4M sa Bacolod City. Tani may mas maayo nga solusyon para diri (It is a waste that 240,000 eggs or 8,000 trays worth P1.4 million in Bacolod City were burned. There should be a better solution than this).''Indi ko kaya maghipus lang, kinahanglan ko ihambal sa inyo tanan ang sentimiento ko (I can't just keep quiet. I need to air my sentiments),' he added. The Victorias City mayor is the son of Bacolod City Mayor Alfredo Abelardo 'Albee' Benitez.The post of the younger Benitez sparked comments on social media, most of whom concurring with his comment.On Sunday a shipment of eggs on board a trailer truck from Bantayan island in Cebu was detained by authorities at the port.'The permit of the shipper has already expired and no other pertinent documents were also presented,' de la Torre said. She added that upon investigation the personnel on the truck told them that they passed by Tabuelan in Cebu crossing to Escalante City in Negros Occidental and was on their way to Iloilo.'They were just supposed to deliver 340 trays of eggs in Bacolod City before heading to Iloilo,' she said. While Bantayan is considered bird flu-free, de la Torre said the shipper 'has no permit' on hand.'Even if it's just one tray it will still affect our poultry industry, especially that there is a new strain of the avian influenza right now that will totally wipe out all chicken if it infects a one poultry farm. There are strains too that can affect humans,' de la Torre said.The confiscated eggs were dropped in a hole, smashed, burned, doused with disinfectant and buried.Negros Occidental Gov. Eugenio Jose Lacson and Bacolod City Mayor Benitez issued a joint executive order late last year establishing the guidelines for the ban on the entry of all live domestic and wild birds, and their products, including eggs and manure, from areas with reported cases of highly pathogenic avian influenza.Negros Occidental has an P8-billion poultry industry and is among the top poultry-producing provinces in the country.