June 13, 2023. The CPSU-College of Agriculture and Forestry (CAF) sponsored this month’s convocation with the themes, “Promoting Cenphilians’ Well-Being with Updates on African Swine Fever (ASF) in Negros Occidental” and “Educational Campaign of the PNP-Special Action Force (PNP-SAF),” held at the Clemente Sports Complex, CPSU, Kabankalan City, Negros Occidental.
The program started with the SSG and FLP Turn-Over Ceremony of the outgoing officers and Oath-Taking of the newly elected officers for the upcoming SY 2023-2024 in the main campus led by Dr. Fernando Abello, Vice-President for Academic Affairs.
The In-house speaker who gave the first talk on the topic, African Swine Fever (ASF), is Dr. Hanzel L. Pedrosa, Dean of the College of Agriculture and Forestry (CAF). The goal of the program was to keep students informed of the currently-spreading virus that had been affecting the country’s swine industry. He spoke on the disease triangle-the pathogen, environment, and host. He explained how pathogens become abundant when exposed in an environment that has favorable conditions, and the host must be susceptible in order for the pathogens to mutate. However, if the host is resistant, the pathogens cannot penetrate.
In the presentation of Dr. Pedrosa, he elucidated how African Swine Fever becomes a highly contagious disease among swine including, the wild boars, warthogs and bush pigs which are reservoirs of this disease. He further explained that the ASF virus can only affect pigs and that humans are not susceptible to it.
“Once these wild pigs die, then the pathogens will stay in the environment or transfer to a new host spreading across the environment and people could carry the pathogens. It could also be transmitted through pork products, and environmental contamination by blood, saliva, feces and other vectors such as mosquitoes or other insects that bites the swine,” he added.
The second batch of speakers are from the PNP-SAF 61st Special Action Company (SAC), 6th Special Action Battalion (SAB) led by PCpt Theodore Roosevelt B. Saboy, Company Commander, as well as PLt Mario B. Dacillo, Jr., Deputy Company Commander and the Chief Police Community Relations Officer, for the PNP-SAF educational campaign.
As explained by PCpt Saboy, the SAC was established by former Philippine President Fidel V. Ramos way back in 1983 with the primary task to battle insurgency and terrorism. Likewise, PLt Dacillo continued with an academic campaign for PNP regarding the Anti-Terrorism Law which was signed into law by President Duterte in 2020. The three categories in the crime of terrorism, which are the principals, accomplice, and the accessories, each with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment according to the heaviness of the committed crime were further highlighted by PLt Dacillo
Series of PNP Academy (PNPA) promotional videos, as well as exhibition of Static Display of the SAF Eight-Man Team Composition with Rifle and Pistol Exercises were presented to CPSU stakeholders who were mostly college students.
This month’s convocation was facilitated by the College of Agriculture and Forestry (CAF), coordinated by the Office of Student Services and Affairs (OSSA) with the Future Leaders of the Philippines (FLP) and Supreme Student Government (SSG).
By: A. Fernandez (BSABE-3A) - The Cenphilian Publication
Photos: J.M. Facto, BSED Sci 3 & R. Macariola, BSAB 2/ The Cenphilian and OSSA