“He rented a mountain to raise 30 pigs and abandoned it for 5 years. One day he returned and was paralyzed by what he saw…

“He rented a mountain to raise 30 pigs and abandoned it for 5 years. One day he returned and was paralyzed by what he saw…
In 2018, Rogelio “Roger” Santos, a 34-year-old man from Nueva Ecija, dreamed of escaping poverty by raising pigs. He rented a vacant plot of land on a mountain in the town of Carranglan and turned it into a small piggery.
He spent all his savings and even took out a loan from the Land Bank of the Philippines. He built pens, installed a deep well, and bought 30 piglets.
The day he brought the first litter of pigs up the mountain, he proudly told his 31-year-old wife, Marites:
—“Wait for me. In a year, we’ll be able to build our own house.”
But life wasn’t as easy as the “get rich” success stories on television.
Less than three months later, African Swine Fever spread across Luzon. One by one, the surrounding pig farms collapsed. Some neighbors were forced to burn their entire pens just to stop the virus from spreading. For weeks, a thick smoke hung over the mountains.
Marites began to grow afraid.
—“Let’s sell them while they’re still alive,” —she pleaded.
But Roger was stubborn. —“This will pass. We just need to hold on a little longer.”
The constant worry and sleepless nights weakened him. He was even hospitalized in Cabanatuan due to extreme exhaustion and stress. He spent more than a month resting in his in-laws’ province.
When he returned to the mountain, half of his pigs were already gone. The price of feed had doubled. The bank had started calling to collect the loan installments.
Every night, as the rain beat against the tin roof of the pens, Roger felt as if everything he had worked for was slowly crumbling.
Until one night, after receiving another call from a creditor, he sat on the floor and whispered:
—“I’m finished.”
The next morning, he closed the piggery. He handed the key to the landowner, Mang Tino, and walked down the mountain. He couldn’t bear to see the total collapse of everything he had built. In his mind, it was already a total loss.
For five years, he never returned to the mountain.
He and Marites moved to Quezon City and worked as factory laborers. Life was simple: they weren’t rich, but it was quiet.
Whenever anyone talked about pig farming, Roger would only smile bitterly and say:
—“I just gave my money to the mountain.”
But earlier this year, Mang Tino called him out of the blue. His voice was trembling.
—“Roger… get up here. Your old piggery… something serious has happened.”
The following day, Roger traveled more than 40 kilometers up the mountain. The old dirt road was now covered in grass and trees, as if it had been abandoned for a decade.
As he climbed, he felt a mixture of anxiety and fear in his chest.
Had the pens collapsed by now?
Or was there perhaps no trace left of his old dream?
When he reached the final curve of the mountain, he suddenly stopped.
The place he had abandoned… now looked like…
(Part 2 coming soon…)