First African Swine Fever Vaccine Approved in Philippines, Boosting Livestock Recovery Hopes

MANILA, Philippines — The Bureau of Animal Industry (BAI) approved the first vaccine against African swine fever (ASF) in the Philippines, bolstering the country’s defenses against the animal disease. The BAI approved the commercial sale of Avac ASF Vaccine developed by the AVAC Vietnam Joint Stock Co. It is a live, attenuated, gene-deleted freeze-dried vaccine designed to protect pigs against the ASF virus. READ: DA eyes Q3 rollout of ASF vaccine Another ASF vaccine, Provac from South Korean firm Komipharm International Co. Ltd., is currently undergoing testing by the BAI, which could provide another option for local hog raisers by next year. “The availability of a commercially approved ASF vaccine is crucial to our repopulation program,” Agriculture Secretary Francisco Tiu Laurel Jr. said in a statement on Wednesday. “It gives hog raisers another tool to protect healthy animals as we work to rebuild the industry and secure a more stable supply of pork,” the agriculture chief added. National Federation of Hog Farmers Inc. vice chair Alfred Ng said the first ASF vaccine could help in revitalizing the domestic sector, which has incurred billions of pesos in losses since recording the first ASF outbreak in 2019. The national hog population declined to about 8 million heads in 2025 from about 13 million prior to the ASF outbreak. “If they want hog sector to recover, then it must be affordable for mass use, especially [by] backyard farmers who have suffered enough,” Ng told the Inquirer in a Viber message on Wednesday. Ng said local authorities should also begin the review of other ASF vaccines instead of waiting for the complete free sale certificate or certificate of product registration (CPR) from the European Union. “This vaccine showed a lot of promise since trials were done on breeders and piglets and can be used for all species with very good trial results. I hope they review results initially while waiting for final document requirement so that approval and CPR may be fast-tracked,” he added. Samahang Industriya ng Agrikultura executive director Jayson Cainglet welcomed the “long-overdue development” that could benefit thousands of Filipino hog raisers, particularly backyard farmers. “The commercial clearance of the ASF vaccine gives our backyard hog raisers renewed hope. More importantly, it gives government a critical tool to finally accelerate the recovery of the domestic hog industry,” Cainglet said in a statement on Wednesday. READ: BAI takes lead in regulating animal health products Cainglet urged the government to immediately establish a free or heavily subsidized ASF vaccination program for backyard hog raisers, along with a sustained repopulation program and stronger biosecurity support, to help them recover from mounting losses due to ASF. “The commercial approval of the vaccine should, therefore, be treated not merely as a regulatory milestone, but as an important component of the country’s broader strategy to control ASF, rebuild the local hog population, and restore domestic pork production,” he added. Agriculture Undersecretary Constante Palabrica said he has requested a P1-billion budget next year to subsidize ASF vaccination programs for backyard pig farms. “The government is positioning vaccination as part of a broader repopulation strategy that includes disease surveillance, biosecurity, movement control and targeted restocking. The goal is to restore swine population to pre-ASF outbreak level,” the DA said. Data from the BAI showed there are active ASF cases in 20 provinces and 12 regions as of Aug. 7. INQ