1,766 rats eliminated in the Pied Piper contest in the Baguio market during the quarantine

TIME OF SILENCE. Baguio residents have designated market days due to the long quarantine, so only a quarter of Baguio market stalls have been open. PHOTO OF EV ESPIRITU

CITY OF BAGUIO –– A multi-colored flutist-like contest aimed at disinfecting the public market in the city of Baguio during the quarantine period has eliminated 1,766 rats.

The “Rat Catch Challenge” faced 30 sections of the market in a month-long contest that ended Thursday (April 30), for cash prizes presented by Mayor Benjamin Magalong.

“The results were calculated based on the proportion of the catch and the number of posts that operated during the improved community quarantine period,” according to the city’s public information office.

Ten stalls selling lechon (roast pork) captured 79 rodents generating a catch ration of 7.9 entitling their vendors to the top prize of P20,000, the PIO said.

The largest number of rats were the 536 rodents captured by 84 stalls in the fish market stalls area, giving it the fourth highest rank with a catch ratio of 6.38.

The City Office of Veterinarians and Agriculture has encouraged vendors to continue to catch pests.

Graph showing the elimination rate of rats in the Baguio City Public Market during quarantine, by rest, 1,766 rats caught in the Pied Piper contest To clean up the Baguio Market during closure

Market sponsorship has been restricted to just one member of Baguio’s more than 350,000 residents on designated days each week due to the blockade that was meant to stop the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Before the quarantine was imposed, the Baguio government had been reviewing proposals to replace the current market with interconnected market buildings, as part of a Baguio redevelopment initiative.

LZB

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