Entire Manila airport quarantine group sacked 

Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) will be down several employees today after the Philippines’ Department of Agriculture (DA) Secretary ordered the firing of its entire quarantine team.

Agriculture Secretary Manny Piñol posted on Facebook today that the team will be relieved by 5pm today because they did not comply with an order he issued regarding quarantine protocols to prevent the spread of the African Swine Fever (ASF).

“The relief of the whole Quarantine Team at the NAIA should send a clear message to members of the Department of Agriculture (DA) family that we cannot take Administrative Directives for granted,” Piñol said in the statement which was also shared on the DA’s Facebook page.

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According to him, NAIA’s quarantine group failed to install footbath facilities, which he earlier required in all of the country’s entry points after reports that ASF had spread in China.

Piñol said that Ronnie Domingo, the acting director of the Bureau of Animal Industry he ordered the directive to, admitted the lapse and said this occurred because of procurement issues.

Piñol, apparently, isn’t having any of it.

He said in the statement: “This an alibi which I will never accept as I have always believed in the Pilipino saying: ‘Kung gusto, maraming paraan; Kung ayaw, maraming dahilan.'”

This saying roughly translates to “If you want to do it, there’s always a way; if you don’t, there’s always an excuse.”

Piñol also apologized to the hog industry and admitted that “there are still weak links in the Department which need to be corrected.”

ASF causes hemorrhagic fever in pigs and has a very high mortality rate. Because of this, the DA earlier banned the importation of pigs from eight countries.

The troubles of NAIA’s quarantine team are far from over.

Piñol said in his statement that he will also direct the DA Internal Administrative Service to investigate whether or not the team’s officers can be charged with dereliction of duty.

This is just the latest issue to hit the Manila airport. Last month, the United States government issued a travel advisory warning travelers that security in NAIA is not up to par with international standards.