Pigs living with humans in Baguio

EDITORIAL 

The downtown metropolis of this summer capital may pass as above average in terms of tourist come-ons, amenities and yes, maybe cleanliness, but unknown to many, barangays right at the town center are filthy, and smelly owing to pigs living with human beings.

These include barangays of Imelda Village, Holy Ghost, Brookside among others.

No, pigs are not sleeping with humans. Their dwelling areas have been set up in building and house basements or any space where a pigsty could be built.   

For this, the regional Cordillera office of the Environmental Management Bureau will start this new year to strictly implement laws on prohibition of piggeries in highly urbanized cities to reduce pollutants in water systems in the city.

EMB-CAR regional director Reynaldo S. Digamo said there was an earlier agreement reached by agency officials and over 200 piggery owners in Baguio City and La Trinidad for them to install septic tanks in their piggeries to prevent discharge of animal waste to creeks and river systems that pollute these and affect quality of water.

Under the previous agreement reached by the EMB-CAR and  piggery owners, pig pens near bodies of water found directly discharging their waste water to creeks and rivers were required to install septic tanks and for them to take care of only four pigs.

They were given reasonable time to remove their piggeries in said areas, while those whose piggeries were located at least 500 meters away from waterways were mandated to comply with same regulations and will be given a maximum of three years to exist before ceasing operations.

“We understand that livestock raising is  major source of livelihood of a number of residents but the piggery owners must understand that we have existing policies prohibiting the presence of piggeries in urban centers, especially highly urbanized cities, that is why we are simply implementing the said policy,” Digamo said.

The EMB-CAR official bared it was discovered one of  identified pollutants of the Balili and Bued rivers was animal waste from piggeries in several barangays in the city.

He said they were constrained to coordinate with the city government to implement laws against presence of piggeries in residential areas.

He said that human waste, because of sewer lines that directly discharge household waste to bodies of water, was also identified as one of pollutants of rivers and creeks.

He said there was need for an intensified campaign to make sure households have their own septic tanks to prevent unscrupulous discharge of waste water to bodies of water and reduce pollution in waterways.

 Digamo appealed to piggery owners not to use the issue for political purposes because concerned government agencies and the local government are simply implementing policies that prohibit piggeries in urban centers.

He added piggery owners should be grateful to the agency because they were still given time to dispose their current livestock so that they will not incur heavy losses.

The EMB-CAR and local government, he said, will continue to monitor presence of piggeries in barangays and aggressively remind owners of the policies that prohibit piggeries in urban areas and for them to look for other suitable locations to set up piggeries.