In 2018, Rogelio “Roger” Santos, a 34-year-old man from Nueva Ecija, dreamed of escaping poverty by raising pigs. He rented a vacant section of a mountain in the town of Carranglan to turn it into a small piggery.
He used up all his savings, even took out a loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines, built pig pens, installed a deep well, and bought 30 piglets.
On the day he brought the first batch of pigs up the mountain, he proudly told his wife Marites, 31:
“Just wait for me. In one year, we’ll be able to build our own house.”
But life was not as easy as the success stories on television about getting rich.
In less than three months, African swine fever spread across Luzon. One by one, nearby pig farms collapsed. Some neighbors were forced to burn their entire pig pens just to stop the virus from spreading. For weeks, thick smoke hung over the mountains.
Marites became frightened.
“Let’s sell them while they’re still alive,” she pleaded.
But Roger was stubborn.
“This will pass. We just need to endure a little longer.”
From constant worry and sleepless nights, he grew weak. He was even hospitalized in Cabanatuan due to extreme exhaustion and stress. He spent more than a month resting in his in-laws’ province.
When he returned to the mountain, half of his pigs were already gone. The price of feed had doubled. The bank had started calling to collect his loan payments.
Every night, as rain pounded against the tin roof of the pig pens, Roger felt as if everything he had worked for was slowly collapsing.
Until one night, after another call from a creditor, he sat down on the floor and whispered:
“I’m finished.”
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