Veterinary Quarantine and
Inspection Procedures in the
Philippines
Dr. Norodin A. Kuit
Regional Vet. Quarantine Officer
ARMM
CP# 09263431462
Email Add: drkuit@yahoo.com
Organizational Structure
-The National Veterinary Quarantine Service is under
the direct supervision of the Director of the Bureau of
Animal Industry thru the Chief of the NVQS.
- In each region of the country, a Regional Veterinary
Quarantine Officer was deputized by the Secretary of
the Department of Agriculture, upon the endorsement of
the Regional Executive Director of DA-RFU or
Regional Secretary of DAF-ARMM and thru the
recommending approval of the Director of BAI.
Mandate
The main mandate of the Veterinary Quarantine Service
is to safeguard animal health against any hazardous or
zoonotic diseases of animals that jeopardized human
health and the livestock and Poultry Industry of the
country.
Qualifications of a Vet. Quarantine Officers
and Vet. Quarantine Inspectors
-VQO must be a licensed or registered Veterinarian and a regular
govt. employee of still in serviceable age. Must be trained on
Vet. Quarantine training conducted by NVQS. Training abroad is
of advantage.
-VQI must be a regular or permanent govt. employee preferably in the
Department of Agriculture or its attached bureaus. Must be trained
or attended several orientation seminars on Vet Quarantine.
List of Quarantinable Items (Carrier of infectious
matter/pests)
a)Live animals
b)Raw meat and poultry
c)Processed semi processed meat
d)Meat and poultry products
e)Packaging materials
-E.g. creates, vans, boxes
g)Transport Vehicles
h)People movement
i)By-products in livestock and
poultry production
-E.g. manure, used sack, etc.
j)Semen
k)Feedstuff and raw mats
l)Dog food
m)Veterinary drugs and biologics
n)Lab specimens / samples
Standard Operating
Procedures
Pursuant to the Provision of Sec. 1765, Sub-Section (a),
(b) and (c) and Sec. 1770 of the Revised Administrative
Code, as amended by Act No. 3639and implemented by
Animal Industry administrative Orders No. 2, 5, 5-1, 6, 7,
7-1, 7-2, 24, 33, 33-A, 34 and 36, all vessels, aircraft and
other means of conveyance involved in foreign trade
calling at any Philippine Port, coming from either foreign
of domestic ports shall be boarded, inspected and placed
under surveillance by the Quarantine Veterinary Officer
duly appointed or designated by the Director or his duly
authorized representative.
Boarding formalities vessels/aircrafts
International Voyages:
Two (2) hours before the estimated time of arrival (ETA), the
Quarantine Veterinary Officer /VQI shall be on “stand-by” and shall
constantly contact the Pilot House or the Customs House Tower by
phone.
The VQO/VQI goes with the rest of the boarding party and secures
from the Master, Chief Steward, Purser or any of the Officers of the
vessel who attends to the formalities, a copy of the following ship’s
documents:
1) STORE LIST- all animal products intended for the crew’s
consumption .
2) ANIMAL LIST – all animals on board
3) CREWS PERSONAL LIST- this is the declaration of the crews
personal belongings which may include animal products and by-products
like sausages, egg, cheese, decorative items of animal origin like horns,
hooves, etc.
4)INWARD FOREIGN CARGO MANIFEST- bulk cargoes of
animal by-products like meat and bone meal, m eat meal, feather meal
and similar products imported for use on animal feeds, if any, are
listed here.
5) SHIP’S VOYAGE MEMO- this is a list of the Ports of Call of the
vessel. This is needed so the VQO will have an idea of the origin of
the frozen meat and meat products intended for crew’s consumption.
6) VETERINARY QUARANTINE CLEARANCE- this is often
times absent if the vessel comes from a foreign port but it should be
demanded for if the last port of call is a Philippine Port.
The Inspection Proper
The VQO/VQI shall fill up a CERTIFICATE OF INSPECTION
in duplicate. One copy shall be supplied to the Master of the
vessel to be presented to the VQO of the next Philippine Port
upon demand. The other copy shall be submitted to the foreign
vessel that had called at the Port.
-DATE OF INSPECTION
-NAME OF VESSEL
-FLAG AND REGISTRY OF VESSEL
-VOYAGE NUMBER
-PORT OF CALL- at least the last three (3) foreign Ports
of Call
-ESTIMATED TIME OF ARRIVAL
-ANCHOR TIME
-TIME BOARDED- this is the time when formalities start.
-LIVE ANIMALS ON BOARD
-MEAT POULTRY AND DAIRY PRODUCTS
-BULK CARGOES( Feed ingredients,animal by products
etc)
-HATCHING EGGS.
-PARCEL LISTED ANIMAL PRODUCTS AND BY
-PRODUCTS
-ARTICLES ACCOMPANYING ANIMALS.
-GARBAGE FACILITIES
-SIGNATURE OF MASTER
Surveillance
All vessels, aircraft and other conveyance
involved in foreign trade calling at any port
shall be placed under surveillance for a proper
implementation of the Veterinary Quarantine
Rules and Regulations.
RE-INSPECTION AND ISSUANCE OF
VETERINARY CLEARANCE:
Two hours before ETD, the VQO/VQI shall
board the vessel for re-inspection. Outward
Foreign Manifest shall be demanded for from
the Master of the vessel.
Veterinary Quarantine Clearance will be issued
only when upon re-inspection found that all
papers are in order and corresponding
inspection fee shall be collected from the
importer or his/her representative.
RELEASE OF ALL INCOMING MEAT, MEAT
PRODUCTS, DAIRY
PRODUCTS, FEEDS AND FEED PRODUCTS
Shipment shall be accompanied by an IVC or Health
Certificate written/translated in English issued by the
Veterinary Administration at the country of origin.
The shipment shall only be released by the Bureau of Customs
(BOC) upon accomplishment of the following:
-Presentation by the Importer of the VQC (original), IVC or
Health Certificate (original), Bill of Lading/Airway Bill, and
Packing List to the DAVQO for verification and evaluation;
-Initiation and completion of the mandatory veterinary
quarantine inspection done by random sampling and /or
documentation and clearance ( all meat products shall be
inspected at the port of entry);
-Payment of veterinary quarantine inspection fee.
-Resealing (BAI Seal) of the container van/s with the inspected
goods; and
-Issuance of a VQIC and stamped “Inspected and Passed”mark
on the original copies of the BOC import documents/entries from
the initiation of the quarantine inspection
AIRPORT FORMALITIES
( INTERNATIONAL FLIGHTS)
All cargo aircraft carrying live animals upon
landing shall be boarded by the VQO/VQI to
physically examine the animals, animal products
and by-products.
Inspection
The VQO or VQI shall stay in the inspection area
together with the representatives of the various
government agencies concerned with the
formalities. A Certificate of Inspection shall be
accomplished and the flight Captain shall be made
to affix his signature supplying him the duplicate
copy together with a copy of the Administrative
Order
no. 7-1 for his future reference.
SURVEILLANCE
All aircraft shall be placed under
surveillance especially when there are no
animals, animal products and animal byproducts for loading, unloading or
transshipment.
ISSUANCE OF VETERINARY
CLEARANCE:
Two hour before the ETD, the VQO/VQI shall be at
the Inspection Area together with the representatives
of the other government agencies concerned. A copy
of the Outward Foreign manifest, animal List and
General Declaration List shall be demanded for. Only
after all the papers are found to be in order shall a
Veterinary Quarantine Clearance be issued.
Transhipment
The VQO or his representative shall see to it that
live animals intended for transshipment shall be
loaded directly to the trucks which have been
previously disinfected. Under no circumstances
shall the animals be allowed to touch the
ground. The VQO/VQI or his representative
shall supervise the loading of the shipment and
shall be at the airport until departure of the
aircraft
CLEARANCE AND RELEASE OF INCOMING
ANIMALS , ANIMAL-BYPRODUCTS AND BIOLOGICS
-VQO /VQI shall examine all incoming live animals for any signs
of illness. The passenger/importer shall present Import Permit
and Health Certificate issued by the Bureau of Animal Industry
and a Veterinarian from the country of origin, respectively.
- For meat and meat products, the VQO/VQI shall notify the
NMIS immediately of their date of release and their cold storage
of destination. Veterinary Quarantine Clearance issued by the
Bureau of Animal Industry, a Health Certificate and payment of
corresponding inspection fees are also required before clearance
shall be issued.
For cats and dogs, in the absence of Import Permit,
a corresponding Permit Fee aside from the
Inspection fee shall be collected. Likewise, the
owner/importer shall be advised to have their dog
or cat vaccinated against the prevalent diseases in
the area, i.e., rabies, distemper, parvovirus, feline
panleukopenia, etc.
For antibiotics, vaccines, feed ingredients and
other veterinary products, same procedures shall
be followed.
For endangered species, this includes all
species of birds, aside from Import Permit
and Health Certificate the VQO/VQO should
require the importer or his/her representative to
present a CITES (Convention on International
Trade on Endangered Specie) prior to their
veterinary clearance. In ports where an Officer
from the Parks and Wildlife Bureau is present,
the VQO should refer the importation to the
PWB Officer prior to their release.
Confiscation
Confiscation of veterinary products shall be
done in coordination with the Bureau of
Customs. Confiscated items shall be under
the custody of the BOC until such time they
are properly turned over to the Veterinary
Quarantine Service for proper disposal.
Disposal shall be witnessed by
representatives from the BOC and COA
Auditor assigned at the airport.
CLEARANCE AND RELEASE OF OUTGOING
ANIMAL AND ANIMAL-BY
PRODUCTS
For dogs and cats, a Health Certificate issued by
the Bureau of Animal Industry is required. After
examining the animal, the VQO should sign the
original copy of the Health Certificate and retain the
duplicate copy. In the absence of the Health
Certificate, the passenger should be advised to bring
with them all vaccination certificates of the animals.
For passenger going to the USA, Japan, Australia and
New Zealand, they should not be allowed to bring with them
any poultry, meat and meat products, unless they have an
Import Permit from their country of destination.
Passengers carrying endangered specie should be
referred to an Officer from the Parks and Wildlife Bureau.
However, if there’s no Officer from the PWB, the VQO /VQI
should require the passenger to present CITES
permit/clearance issued by the PWB, Import Permit from the
country of destination and a Health Certificate issued by the
Bureau of Animal Industry or any Veterinarian. Without these
documents, the passenger should not be allowed to bring out
the endangered specie.
AIRPORT FORMALITIES
(Local Movement)
OUTGOING SHIPMENT:
Veterinary Quarantine Inspector (VQI) on duty shall stay at
the baggage inspection area together with the other
government agencies concerned with baggage inspection.
Valid shipping permits for all animals, animal effects intended
for shipment shall be demanded for. Only items specified in
the shipping permit shall be allowed to be loaded. However,
all item intercepted without the necessary papers shall be
referred to the VQO. If upon inspection of the items not
covered with shipping permits, the VQO finds said items to
have met the BAI requirements he shall issue a shipping
permit.
PARCEL LISTED ITEMS- all parcel listed items
without shipping permits shall be confiscated. Five
copies of the Certificate of confiscation shall be
prepared. The original copy goes to the shipping
company concerned, the duplicate copy goes to the
airlines manager’s office, the triplicate copy goes to the
Civil Aeronautics Administration, the quadruplicate
copy goes to the Aviation Security Command and the
last copy shall be retained for file.
The Veterinary Quarantine Office shall see to it
that the shipping agency concerned shall be
notified within three hours. Said items shall be
released to the shipping agency only after five
copies of the Certificate of Release shall have
been prepared providing a copy each to the
above-mentioned offices. The disciplinary action
to be taken against the erring shipping agency
shall be as per suggestion of the VQO/VQI.
INCOMING SHIPMENTS:
The VQI shall on duty shall stay at the incoming baggage area. All
incoming shipments of animals, animal products, animal byproducts and animal effects shall be inspected. Only items specified
in the shipping permits shall be issued landing permits. Items not
covered by the necessary papers shall be confiscated. Five copies
of the Certificate of Confiscation shall be prepared providing copy
each the owner/shipper, the Office of the Airline Manager, the Civil
Aeronautics Administration, the AVSECOM and a copy shall be
retained for the office file. Disposal of the item shall be left to the
discretion of the VQO. The disciplinary action to be taken against
the erring Airline Company shall be as per the suggestion of the
VQO.
PARCEL LISTED ITEMS- all parcel listed items not
covered with shipping permits shall be confiscated. Five
copies of the Certificate of Confiscation shall be
prepared. The original goes to the shipping agency, the
duplicate goes to the office of Airline Manager, etc. The
disposal of the said items shall be left to the discretion
of the VQO.
In case of destruction, five copies of the Certificate of
Destruction shall be prepared, providing a copy each to
the above-mentioned offices. The disciplinary action to
be taken against the erring shipping agency shall be as
per suggestion of the VQO/VQI.
LOCAL TRANSHIPMENT:
Live animals, meat and meat products coming from
areas declared under quarantine shall in no instance be
allowed outside the airport premises. The VQO/VQI
shall see to it that animal shall never touch the ground.
PORT FORMALITIES
( INTERISLAND VOYAGES)
The VQO or his duly authorized representative shall
inspect all shipment of animals, animal products,
animal by-products and animal effects on board
vessels docking at any port or sub-port of the
Philippines. Shipping permits of these items shall be
demanded from the Master, Purser or any of the
vessels officer on duty.
LANDING PERMITS- under no circumstance
shall said items be issued landing permits unless
they are accompanied by shipping permits issued
by the BAI at the port of origin.
CERTIFICATE OF INSPECTION- two copies of
the Certificate of Inspection shall be prepared
furnishing a copy to the Master of the vessel and
one copy is retained for the office records. The
Master, Purser or any of the vessel’s officer on
duty shall be made to affix his signature on the
Certificate of Inspection.
DEATHS AND ESCAPE OF ANIMALS IN
TRANSIT- deaths and escapes of animals in transit
shall be entered on the Certificate of Inspection.
AUTOPSY REPORTS- the VQO may perform
autopsy if he deems it necessary. Three copies of the
autopsy report shall be prepared furnishing a copy to
the Master of the vessel one copy to the
owner/shipper and one copy shall be retained for
office records.
The carcass shall be applied with a BAI
approved disinfectant prior to unloading and
incineration.
OUTGOING VOYAGE:
-Two hours before the ETD, the VQI shall board the vessel
and see if all animals, animal products, animal by-products
and animal effects on board are duly accompanied by shipping
permits.
-If upon inspection, it is found that there are items loaded in
his port of responsibility without the relevant papers, the
Philippine Coast Guard shall be requested to defer the
issuance of clearance for the departure of the said vessels
unless said items have been unloaded.
- The Master of the vessel shall be called to remind him of his
duties and responsibilities in the proper implementation of the
Veterinary Quarantine.
TRANSSHIPMENT- shipment from other ports passing
thru his port of responsibility without the relevant papers
shall be immediately reported to the VQO. The VQO shall
then inform by telegram the VQO of the port of destination
regarding such shipments.
Under no circumstance shall item destined for other
port be unloaded in another port unless prior permission
from the VQO of the latter port has been granted.
Foot Baths
The VQI shall see to it that all vessels calling at
the ports and sub-ports of his concern have
footbaths and that they shall always be wet with a
BAI approved disinfectant.
ROUTINE INSPECTION OF SUB-PORTS:
The VQO/VQI shall regularly inspect the subports of his concern and should request assistance
from the Philippine Coast Guard, the Philippine
Ports Authority and the Local Government for the
proper implementation of veterinary Quarantine.
MOVEMENT OF ANIMAL FROM THE POINT
OF LANDING TO THE QUARANTINE AREA:
A representative of VQO shall accompany all shipments of
animals from the point of landing to the quarantine site. Under no
circumstance shall a shipment be diverted to another place other
than the designated area. Items landed shall be loaded directly to
the carrier which have been previously disinfected and the VQO or
his duly authorized representative shall see to it that the said items
will never touch the ground until they reach the quarantine area
QUARANTINE OBSERVATION PERIOD
-All animals coming from foreign countries and landed in any port of
the country shall be placed under quarantine for a period of thirty
(30) days in a place chosen by the owner or consignee provided that
such place meets the standard of the BAI.
-The VQO or their duly authorized representative shall constantly
check the condition of the animals. If the animals are intended for
breeding they should be tested for Brucellosis and other diseases that
might cause abortion.
-If necessary the animals shall be subjected to laboratory or
serological tests for diseases known to be present from their country
of origin Said animals will be released only if after the lapse of thirty
(30) days no symptom or symptoms of any dangerous communicable
animal disease exhibited. Any other case such as FMD vaccination
prior to their release is at the discretion of the VQO.
Overtime Pay
Claim on overtime pay is case to case basis
and must be shoulder by the private sector
concerned on agreed basis.
Based on AO #23, series of 1993, Boarding
VQO or representative can claim Php 30.00
per hour after official working hours.
Recommended Facilities for a Vet. Quarantine
Station
I- Stable or paddocks for Horses with chute
II- Ruminants(Large n Small) Hanger/yard with chute
III-Aviary
IV-Canine Quarters
The only 6-star Animal hotel in Asia
V-Admin. Office
@ Kuala Lumpur Int. Airport, Malaysia
VI-Laboratory
VII- Exotic Animals Quarter
VIII- Silos
IX- Incinerator