Nothing irregular in sale of ‘shabu hogs’ – mayors

MAGALANG, Pampanga, Philippines – Two Pampanga town mayors charged with graft for the sale of 4,000 hogs seized from a piggery used as a front for a shabu laboratory in this town maintained yesterday that they did not commit any irregularity.

Magalang Mayor Maria Lourdes Lacson said the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) approved the sale of the hogs to Bacolor Mayor Jose Mari Hizon, son of the owner of Pampanga’s Best.

“After consultation with concerned department heads, a veterinarian and the DILG and with authorization from the municipal board of Magalang, the livestock composed mostly of piglets were auctioned and sold for P7 million to a reputable company,” Lacson said in a statement.

She said it was in the best interest of the health of her constituents to sell the hogs.

“The hogs were left unattended and the farm was abandoned after the raid. Animal manure started to build up. Nobody stayed to clean and feed the swine as the estimated cost is P160,000 per day,” Lacson said.

She said the pigs also started to get sick while many died.

“The effects of all these on human health cannot be taken lightly. If not acted upon immediately it would result to a magnitude of potential problems,” Lacson said.

Meanwhile, Hizon said he participated and won in the  bidding as a private individual and not in his capacity as a mayor.

“The issuance of the check to the local government of Magalang and withdrawal of hogs from the farm followed the process. I came there in good faith to exercise my right as a businessman and the buyer of the pigs. Being the sole bidder is not my concern as I just placed my bid in the amount I think is right, which the local government accepted,” he said.

In a 10-page complaint filed with the Office of the Ombudsman on Tuesday, the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) said Lacson and Hizon violated  Republic Act 3019 or the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act.

Magalang treasurer Raissa Bayani, assessor Adela Tanhueco, engineer Jesus Nathaniel Pili, business permits and license officer Ryan Miranda, agriculturist Milagros Suing and Barangay Ildefonso chairman Marcial Alfaro were named respondents in the case.

PDEA-National Capital Region director Wilkins Villanueva said the PDEA and the court were not informed of the sale of the hogs.