Baguio piggery owners ordered: Stop operations

By Aileen P. Refuerzo

BAGUIO CITY – The deadline for hog-raisers in this city to cease operation has lapsed on Jan. 30 and would face sanctions if they still continue their trade.

               Mayor Benjamin Magalong earlier reminded barangay officials in their monthly meeting Jan. 17 to take the lead in ensuring that their constituents who are operating backyard piggeries will comply with the deadline as he is poised to order the massive confiscation of the livestock of those who will defy the order.

The mayor at the start of his term gave the piggery owners until Dec. 29 to wind down their operations in view of the local and national laws prohibiting hog raising in highly urbanized cities.

The City Environment and Parks Management Office under Asst. Head Rhenan Diwas is in the process of issuing letters to the identified operators to remove their pigsties and dispose their remaining livestock.

CEPMO will undertake the demolition, confiscate the hogs and file criminal charges for violation of the city’s Environment Code and related national laws against those who will not comply.

There were more than 700 identified hog raisers in the city and some of them have complied and halted their operation.

The city and the Dept. of Agriculture are currently working out the establishment of a cooperative composed of commercial and backyard piggery owners from Baguio City to become the beneficiary of a multi-million facility planned to be put up in a location outside the city.

The state-of-the-art commercial piggery farm will employ a fully computerized operation requiring minimal manpower.

It will be the cooperative that will market the hogs that will be produced while the piglets will come from an internationally accredited supplier who will be the partner of the cooperative in the management and operation of the same.