BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL G. BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – The recent conflict between government forces and New People’s Army (NPA) insurgents in Himamaylan City, Negros Occidental did not spare livestock. Several deaths of farm animals were recorded by the Provincial Veterinary Office (PVO).
According to PVO officer-in-charge Dr. Placida Lemana, two carabaos and three hogs got killed in the encounters in Barangay Carabalan.
The two carabaos were owned by separate individuals, while the three pigs were owned by a local hog farmer.
In Barangay Carabalan alone, the PVO has counted at least 90 carabaos, 57 goats, 23 cattle, 130 hogs, and 1,600 chickens were affected in the almost two-week long fighting.
Lemana also noted that, when the evacuated civilians finally returned home on Oct. 15, some of their livestock had lost weight due to lack of food./PN
