A motorized banca loaded with hogs but without proper permits was intercepted in Dumanjug town, southern Cebu Province.

The vessel docked in Barangay Kanyukô at past 11 p.m. on October 26, 2024. 

The apprehension was carried out hours after Cebu Governor Gwendolyn Garcia issued Executive Order Number 16 on the creation of “Anti-Smuggling Inter-Agency Task Force” in the Province of Cebu. 

Dumanjug Municipal Police intercepted 79 pigs from Negros Oriental sans legitimate documents.

The police coordinated with municipal forces in adjacent towns, the municipal livestock coordinator, and the Philippine Coast Guard in carrying out the operation.

The motorized banca was found to be abandoned along with two vehicles believed to take the pigs supposedly from the said barangay.

The banca and vehicles with plate numbers based in Cebu were confiscated while the pigs were taken by the authorities into their custody. Investigation continues, as of posting time, to establish the identity of perpetrators in the smuggling of hogs.

The mayor of Dumanjug pointed out that a swine monitoring task force in the municipality is active for over a year already.

“I am very disappointed, but this is also a challenge for us,” Dumanjug Mayor Efren Guntrano “Gungun” Gica said via Capitol’s official news portal, “Sugbo News.”

EO 16 was signed on October 26, 2024 after the Cebu Provincial Capitol received reports that smuggled pigs are being transported from Negros Island to Cebu through towns on the southwestern side of Cebu Province; that includes Dumanjug. 

(Info courtesy: DYSS Super Radyo GMA, Municipality of Dumanjug PIO, Sugbo News)