* Badian police intercepted 125 live pigs from Negros Oriental along the coastline of Barangay Lambug at 4 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026.
* Authorities detained truck driver Arnel Aragones Lobrido, who stated the pigs were bound for Talisay City and Mandaue City, and scheduled the animals for disposal in Barangay Talayong.
* The seizure marks Badian's second major interception in August 2026 as Cebu Province enforces Executive Order 44, extending a 45-day ban on Negros pork products to prevent African swine fever.
POLICE in Badian, a town in southwestern Cebu, intercepted 125 live pigs believed to have come from Negros Oriental early Saturday, Aug. 29, 2026, after the animals were unloaded from three pump boats along the coast of Sitio Manay-as, Barangay Lambug.
The Badian Police Station said it responded around 4 a.m. after a resident reported several boats unloading live pigs.
Officers arrived to find the animals being transferred from the boats to a truck. The interception came as Cebu Province continued its ban on live hogs, pork and pork products from Negros Island and other areas affected by African swine fever (ASF).
Bound for Talisay, Mandaue
Police coordinated with Municipal Livestock Coordinator Philip Joe Castigador and the Philippine Coast Guard substation in Badian before taking custody of the 125 pigs, the three boats and the truck intended to transport them.
Police identified the truck driver as Arnel Aragones Lobrido, 44, of La Libertad, Negros Oriental. Lobrido told authorities the pigs were bound for Talisay City and Mandaue City.
Authorities did not establish a more specific point of origin for the animals. The pigs were scheduled to be brought to the landfill in Barangay Talayong for disposition.
Ban extension
Gov. Pamela Baricuatro signed Executive Order 44 on Aug. 20, extending the temporary ban for another 45 days. The initial 45-day restriction took effect July 7 after ASF infections were confirmed on Negros Island.
The order covers live pigs, pork and pork-derived products and calls for tighter inspections at ports, private landing areas and other entry points. As of Aug. 20, Bindoy, Pamplona and Siaton in Negros Oriental had active ASF cases.
The interception was the second involving more than 100 pigs in Badian in August. Authorities intercepted 104 live hogs worth about P520,000 on Aug. 13 after they arrived by motorized boat in Barangay Poblacion. The animals were later euthanized and buried after being turned over to the Provincial ASF Task Force.
Other attempted entries have been recorded along Cebu’s western coast. Authorities intercepted 42 hogs in Dumanjug on July 8, while two piglets that entered Moalboal by private boat on Aug. 9 were returned to Negros the following day.
The Provincial Government has maintained that the province remains ASF-free as authorities continue surveillance, testing and border controls.
ASF does not infect humans, but the viral disease can cause high death rates among pigs and heavy losses to the hog industry. / AYB
