In May of this year, the Baguio City LGU launched the second edition of the rat-catching challenge.
The goal is to reduce the number of rats in the public market.
The Villa family considers rats in their meat section stall a nuisance, so they were determined to catch them.
A hundred days after the challenge, vendors caught 800 rats, and they were immediately turned over to the City Veterinary and Agriculture Office.
Three groups won in the group category, while one winner emerged in the individual category.
The group that included the Villa family was declared champion.
They caught 340 rats in the entrails section.
Their technique was to bait the rats with pork meat and liver.
“The bait is attractive because entrails are appealing to rats, they’d choose entrails over other food,โ says Domingo Villa.
“We are really thankful that they launched this project, itโs a great initiative,โ Marissa Villa added.
They won 25,000 pesos in the group category.
The Chicken Balila section was declared second runner-up after catching 28 rats, while Pines Meat Mart was third runner-up with 24 rats caught.
The second runner-up will take home 15,000 pesos, while the third runner-up will receive 10,000 pesos.
Meanwhile, Domingo Villa was the individual winner, taking home 5,000 pesos.
According to the City Market Office, the winners were chosen based on the ratio of vendors in each section.
They also emphasized that reducing the number of rats is crucial to preventing leptospirosis.
In the latest report from the Department of Health Cordillera, 116 people tested positive for the disease, and seven have died in the region.
“Iโm thankful that you participated again in our second Rat Catching Challenge. I remember we had the first one in 2020,โ says Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong.
“The challenge has ended, but the fight against rats will continue
**JOSE ROBERT INVENTOR
