CAVITE – The municipal government of Silang closed down a hog farm in Barangay Bucal which has been operating without the necessary permits. In a Facebook post on Friday, April 28, Mayor Kevin Amutan Anarna said Victoria Farm, which operated for almost 25 years, was the biggest piggery in the municipality. “Sinisimulan nang gibain at tanggalin ang pinakamalaking babuyan sa Silang, Cavite na nakakapag-operate dati kahit walang permits (We started dismantling and removing the largest hog farm in Silang, Cavite which was able to operate without permits),” Anarna said. Photo from Mayor Kevin Amutan Anarna's Facebook Page (MANILA BULLETIN)
“Mahigit 6,000 na mga baboy ang inaalagaan dati sa apat na ektaryang farm. Ang ibang gusali pa ay tatlong palapag ang taas nito (Over 6,000 hogs have been kept in the four-hectare farm. Some buildings have three stories).” The mayor said there are still 12 imported male hogs on site which will be used for boar semen collection to help local backyard hog farmers improve their litter for free. The male hogs will be removed from the site by May 15. In a phone interview with the Manila Bulletin, Victoria Farm Officer-in-Charge Delfin Carreon clarified that the closure was well-coordinated and that they do not hold any grudges against the local government unit (LGU). Carreon explained that their farm was one of the earliest businesses in the area in the late 1990s. And when Silang's tourism industry boomed, many residents and hospitality businesses complained about the foul smell coming from the piggery. “Nagkaroon nang ordinansa kasi way back 2014 na bawal ang piggery. Pero napagbibigyan pa kami, nakapag-tuloy kami ng operation, pero nagbabawas-bawas. 'Nung pumasok nga si Mayor Anarna, new management, mas mahigpit (There was an ordinance way back 2014 prohibiting piggeries. But they allowed us to continue operations while cutting back. When Mayor Anarna was elected, new management, they were stricter).” Carreon says they understand that the LGU is just doing its job. He also mentioned that they are "thankful" because the problem pushed them to look for solutions and transfer their hog farm operations to 11 sites in Batangas. According to Anarna, the hog farm site in Silang will be converted into a vegetable farm so as not to affect the livelihood of its employees.