(Eagle News)–The Marikina City government is offering a P200,000 reward to anyone who could pinpoint those behind the dumping of 58 dead pigs in the Marikina River.
It was unclear if the pigs had been contaminated with African Swine Fever, prompting the Marikina government and the Laguna Lake Development Authority to take samples in five areas along the stretch of the water body on Tuesday, Sept. 17, to check for possible contamination.
The city government said it would also file for a writ of kalikasan before the Marikina Regional Trial Court in connection with the incident.
A writ of kalikasan is a legal remedy for persons whose right to a balanced and healthful ecology is violated or threatened.
On Monday, Sept. 16, the Department of Agriculture said the ASF cases in several areas in Bulacan and Rizal may be considered an outbreak, but not an epidemic.
An outbreak is a “sudden rise in the incidence of a disease” and is confined usually to a localized area, while an epidemic is an outbreak of a disease that is less localized.
Agriculture Secretary William Dar said the ASF outbreak was already “managed, contained, and controlled in Rizal and Bulacan.”
The DA also urged the media and the public to refrain from issuing statements that may cause panic and affect the P260-billion swine industry.
