A total of 58 dead pigs so far recovered from Marikina River

The Marikina City Veterinary Office had recovered up to 58 dead pigs from Marikina River as of Tuesday, according to a report by James Agustin on GMA News' Unang Balita.

Authorities continue to monitor the waterway closely.

As of 1 a.m. on Tuesday, the water level of the river reached 13.5 meters due to rains but it subsided before 6 a.m.

Water-related activities including fishing and swimming along Marikina River remained prohibited as it had yet to be verified whether the pigs taken from the waterway were positive for African swine fever.

Marikina authorities were still coordinating with the local governments in Rizal to determine how the dead animals ended up in the river.

In a live interview on Unang Balita on Tuesday, Marikina Mayor Marcy Teodoro said they verified some information regarding the floating dead pigs from locals and netizens, and forwarded it to the Department of Agriculture (DA) which will coordinate with the Rizal Veterinary Office.

"May mga litrato kaming nakita. May mga ilang tao. Maaaring ito, backyard (hog raiser). May isang tao, may dalawang baboy itinapon doon sa sapa o kaya sa ilog," he said.

Teodoro added that although laboratory tests have yet to confirm whether or not the Marikina River was contaminated due to the carcasses, authorities were determined to file charges against those who would be found responsible for polluting the city's main waterway.

"Sinadya man ito o hindi sinadya, kasalanan pa rin dahil nakakaawa at nakakalungkot na namatay ang alaga nilang baboy... Ang malaking kasalanan dito ay ang maling disposal procedure na ginawa ng ating mga kababayan. Kaya dapat may managot," Teodoro said.

The culprits behind the disposal of the possibly infected animals will face charges for violation of the Clean Water Act and the Sanitation Law.

Around 30 to 50 pigs were found floating in the river last week.

On Sunday, a few more dead pigs were found, one weighing 60 kilos, and another one, a mother pig, weighed 200 kilos.

Agriculture Secretary William Dar on Friday appealed to backyard hog raisers not to conceal but rather immediately report suspicious swine deaths to authorities. —Margaret Claire Layug/KG, GMA News