BACOLOD CITY - The Negros Occidental provincial government has enforced a 16-day ban on the entry of live birds and poultry products from all regions in the Philippines starting Monday as a precautionary measure against confirmed bird flu cases in some areas of Luzon. "(This is) to ensure the safety of the poultry industry in Negros Occidental as well as to protect the general public from the ill-effects of the bird flu disease," Governor Eugenio Jose Lacson stated in Executive Order 22-09. Negros Occidental has a PHP8-billion poultry industry, comprising the PHP4-billion broiler and native chicken sectors; the PHP3-billion game fowls; and the PHP1-billion layer and duck sectors. The temporary ban, which takes effect until March 15, covers domestic and wild birds, and their products, including poultry meat, day-old chicks, eggs, semen, and manure. As part of the measures, Lacson directed Provincial Veterinary Office to install quarantine checkpoints in the possible entry poin