THE City Environment and Parks Management Office (CEPMO) is still trying to stamp out illegal piggeries in the city of Baguio three years after the city declared a complete ban on hog-raising within its borders.
The CEPMO, headed by Atty. Rhenan Diwas, reported that a 2022 probe on establishments and households in the city found that illegal piggeries continue to operate within city borders, with pigsty waste making its way into the city’s waterways.
According to data from the CEPMO, the roughly 700 piggeries in the city prior to the 2020 total closure of piggeries have now dwindled to some 200. However, the CEPMO reported that more piggeries sprung up during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many still in operation in the city.
Illegal piggeries found in the probe were slapped with sanctions including demolition of the pigpens, confiscation of the hogs, and criminal charges for violations of multiple laws.
Hog-raising is not allowed in highly urbanized cities like Baguio as per the city’s Environment Code, Republic Act 8749 or the Clean Air Act, Republic Act 9275 or the Philippine Water Act and Republic Act 9904 or the Magna Carta for Homeowners and Homeowners Associations.
Diwas said the laws prohibit hog raising in the city due to the “perilous impact to river quality of direct discharge of wastewater, especially from the operation of piggeries within river easements.”
