Crisis brings out the best in men. This is an old adage that has proven true amongst hog raisers in the country.
In the latter part of 1989, while everybody was hopeful that the economic recovery will take flight after the devastating years under the old regime, a fateful event took place—a coup d’etat was launched against then President Cory Aquino. The effects of that situation cast a wide net of uncertainty on the nation and brought many businesses to its knees, including the livestock and poultry industry—the sub-sector of agriculture that has consistently sustained a growth rate of more than 12% and has contributed to the positive increase in the Philippines’ GNP.
Due to the crisis, hog prices in the early months of 1990 continued to plummet. Mindanao hog raisers, who traditionally were independent from the Luzon hog raisers for their inputs and in marketing their live hogs, became frantic. Desperate, they reached out to their Luzon counterparts to counter the deteriorating prices. Shiploads of hogs from the region were sold at tremendous losses. And despite the help of Metro Manila and its big corporate consumers and hog buyers like the meat processors, hog prices were still plummeting at way below the cost of production. The South Cotabato hog producers were on the verge of collapse. At this stage, hog prices in Luzon also started going down. The entire hog
industry was affected by the depressed prices.
By accident, South Cotabato hog producers came upon documents which revealed that large quantities of pork trimmings were being imported by meat processors. Analyzing the data, they came to the conclusion that the unabated and large volume of pork imports and the perceived instability of the country caused the problems besetting the swine industry. Luzon hog raisers, who were also alarmed, joined the South Cotabato hog producers in bringing their complaints to the government. At this turn of events, the Luzon hog raisers led by Nemesio G. Co, Loretta Galang, Lina Typoco Chai, Frank Ortiz, Jake Sta. Ana, Salvador Valbuena and Antonio Tomlin made a trip to Visayas and Mindanao, and visited areas like General Santos, Davao and Cebu to see for themselves the complaints of the hog producers. It was during these meetings in the South where hog raisers led by Nemesio G. Co realized the need for hog raisers all over county to organize and form themselves into a cohesive national group so their voices and opinions will be heard.
A new national organization was founded on July 16, 1990 during a summit spearheaded by the Philippine Swine Producers Association (PSPA) at the Manila Peninsula Hotel in Makati City. The summit was presided by then PSPA president Nemesio G. Co and supported by Andrew Gaston and Jake Sta. Ana of Monterey Farms, Lina Typoco Chai and Jesus Typoco, Jr. of Federal Agricultural Corp., and Gus de Leon of RFM, among others. Industry bigwigs like Atty. Manuel Serrano and Mrs. Soledad Agbayani of the Phil. Association of Hog Raisers, Inc. (PAHRI), the late Gen. Jacinto Galang, then president of the United Swine Producers Association (USPA) and Antonio C. Tomlin of the Cantonese Hog Raisers
Association also attended the gathering.
The major groups—PSPA, PAHRI and USPA—agreed to fund the new national association which they named the National Hog Raisers Group, Inc. (NHRGI) and registered it with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Getting down to the first order of business of making the organization national in scope, NHRGI conducted a blitzkrieg campaign to gain members from all over the country. In less than two weeks, three groups from the Visayas—Cebu Poultry and Livestock Association headed by Jeffrey T. Dico, Negros Occidental Hog Raisers Association headed by Albert R.T. Lim, Jr., and Iloilo Hog Raisers Association headed by Manuel C. Villa—joined the NHRGI. From Mindanao, three groups—Davao Hog Raisers Association headed by Magno Cam, South Cotabato Swine Producers Association headed by Judge Narciso Mirabueno and Northern Mindanao Hog Raisers Association headed by Fortunato Venegas—aligned themselves with the NHRGI.
From Luzon came the Cantonese Hog Raisers Association headed by Antonio C. Tomlin, Rizal Hog Raisers Association headed by Manuel J. Lao, Central Luzon Swine and Poultry Producers, Inc. headed by Alfredo Dy, Pampanga-Angeles Livestock Growers Association headed by Arthur del Rosario, Lipa Marketing Cooperative headed by Bubut Robles, BANNER headed by Mar Manalo, and Batangas Hog Raisers Association headed by Ed Roca. And to make it a real representation of the industry, backyard hog raisers were represented by the Association of Small Farmers Hog Raisers of the Sanduguan headed by Ka Louie Paterno.
At the end of 1990, the NHRGI saw its first significant achievement: the 15-0 decision of the Supreme Court exempting livestock growers from the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform Program. The NHRGI’s leadership, under national chairman Nemesio G. Co and vice-chairman Gen. Jacinto Galang, and its member-associations showed their political will as they defended the hog industry through the media and its legal luminaries.