At first glance, a house in Barangay San Vicente, Baguio City, seems normal.  

However, upon inspection by barangay officials, it turns out to be a pigpen housing four pigs.  

These are prohibited under the city’s Environmental Code.  

When the news team visited the said house, the owner declined to be interviewed on camera, but two pigs remained, which were reportedly planned to be slaughtered for an upcoming wedding.  

According to Barangay San Vincente Kagawad Michael Medina, “All our cultural rights involve pigs, we truly need pigs for our rituals. Despite our explanations that it is illegal, they continue. The CEPMO has already issued fines.”  

For some residents, pig farming is a source of livelihood, complicating efforts to halt such activities in the city.  

“People are stubborn, they insist on doing what is prohibited,” Medina added.

This practice is also banned under regulations applicable to highly urbanized cities.  

“We need to stop this because they are near waterways; animal waste flows directly into them, leading to high levels of BOD and COD, which can pollute our rivers,” said Atty. Rhenan Diwas, Head of City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO).

“Not all rites require pigs. It’s not essential to our culture,” Medina mentioned.

In 2018, former Baguio City Mayor Atty. Mauricio Domogan issued an order to stop pig farming in the city under Administrative Order No. 43, Series of 2018.  

Thus, the barangay continues to offer residents alternative livelihood options to pig farming.  

This is also a significant step toward ensuring cleanliness in the rivers.  

So far this year, the CEPMO has recorded 244 violations of the Environmental Code in Baguio, including illegal pig farming.

By Jose Robert Inventor