JAEN, Nueva Ecija – Mayor Sylvia Austria asked her constituents to keep calm and remain hopeful as owners of various quail farm owners turned emotional during a meeting here Saturday.
"Malalampasan natin ito. Magtutulong-tulong tayo (We can overcome this. Let us help each other), " said Austria as a number of small-scale quail farmers in Barangay Imbunia in this town lamented the losses they will incur from culling of the birds.
Most of the farmers were housewives who borrowed capital from certain lending investors to raise quails in their backyards.
One of the housewives said she has a standing loan of over PHP100,000 which was used to buy birds and houses.
Austria who also led distribution of relief goods to residents directly by the 'calamity' , after a multi-agency briefing to affected farmers, said the municipal government will continue work out for more government support.
Rey Abaya, regional director of the Department of Agriculture (DA), said they are constrained to cull all 89,000 quails, 7,900 chicken and 10,000 ducks inventoried within the one-kilometer radius zone in Barangay Imbunia here.
Also subject for culling are about 70,000 layer chickens in Barangay San Roque, San Isidro.
Meanwhile, town councilor Sylvester Austria said a private company offers free disinfecting of affected areas or even the entire Jaen.
A state of calamity would be declared after collating all data, the mayor said. (PNA)
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