The backyard hog raisers to which I belong have been gutted by a year-long price drop, P95 to P98 per kilo at the most. These are farm gate prices way below the production cost of P105 per kilo. Many have closed shop, some are still soldiering on with sow levels of five sows to 10. The suffering, though, is 100 per cent and across all regions.

It has been a miserable year for us. But somewhere, somehow, we find small relief in what is going on in the political arena. That Mr. Roxas, the candidate of the ruling political coalition that is responsible for abetting pork smuggling and excess imports by the food processors, is failing at the polls. And that only an epic collapse of Mr. Binay, Ms. Poe and Mr. Duterte, the competing candidates, will make Mr. Roxas win.

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