The spread of African Swine Fever (ASF) among local pigs is already wreaking havoc on the local food production chain. As hog producers face losses due to dropping farm gate prices, as a result of a declining demand for pork, food processors are also now calling for a temporary ban on the use of local pork for canned and processed meat production.

But like many other similar situations in the past where the food chain had to grapple with some malady or affliction affecting livestock (mad cow disease, avian flu, hoof and mouth disease, etc.), I am certain both hog producers and meat processors will all eventually survive the ASF dilemma. The ASF scare, in my opinion, even if prolonged, remains temporary.

My bigger concern is a malady that seems to afflict more than just pigs, and cover an area wider than Luzon. And unlike ASF, or polio, or dengue, or other diseases that afflict livestock or humans, this particular malady does not seem to have any cure. Worse, it is something that has been festering for some time, and it seems that nobody can do anything about it.

I call it, Philippine Swine Fever of PSF. Basically, it is the affliction of always making a mess — a pigsty — of things, while feigning helplessness in dealing with the situation, and always waiting for someone else to clean up. This afflicts us all, in one way or the other. But the problem is more pronounced in urban areas, where we have more “pig pens” than in the countryside.

You see, pigs cannot be expected to clean up after themselves. That is simply not in their nature. So, pig pens tend to be messy. Pigs soil themselves. They eat where they urinate and defecate. They don’t groom themselves, nor take baths even when natural water sources are available. In the end, what keeps the pen — and the pigs — clean are those who “care” for them.

In similar fashion, many of us, particularly in big cities, are very much like these pigs, afflicted with our own kind of “swine fever” that makes us act like, well, pigs. Not to insult the lowly porker, but they are what they are. And, in people’s case, while we would like to think that we are better than them, judging from the way we take care of our “pens,” we are, indeed, just like them.

Philippine Swine Fever plagues a big percentage of the urban population, creating “beings” that we can refer to, for simplicity’s sake, as driving pigs, smoking pigs, dog-owner pigs, littering pigs, and mobile-phone pigs. I am still at a loss as to how the PSF “virus” had managed to spread so widely, and so quickly. But, in a way, I guess we are all to blame for it.

Driving pigs are those who hog lanes and parking slots, and who refuse to cede even just an inch in any traffic situation. You usually find them behind you, impatiently honking their horn, and weaving in and out of traffic. A mutation of the virus afflicts particularly public utility drivers, who think that it is okay for them to pick up and drop off passengers anytime and anywhere, and that it is perfectly all right to block traffic for the “sake” of their customers.

Smoking pigs are those who smoke anytime and anywhere they please; who forget that second-hand smoke is worse and more dangerous than vehicle exhaust; and who litter their cigarette butts, mindlessly assuming that there will always be someone else to clean up their mess. They engage in their filthy habit without a care for others — believing that smoking can be equated with rights and freedom. Some hide in dark corners and hidden passages, but they always leave behind a trace of their crime.

Dog-owner pigs are a breed of their own. Some of them believe that it is actually fine to let their pet dogs urinate and defecate anywhere in public, as long as it is outside their homes. Pavements are always the unwilling victim. They also think that parks, playgrounds, grassy knolls, and tree stumps are all public dog toilets — and that “nature” will work on the disposal part. They will let their dogs poop anywhere else but inside their own homes or backyard.

A mutation of this afflicted breed is the type to actually bag the poop, or wrap it in old paper, but leave the thing, still. Perhaps this comes with the mistaken notion that poop, once wrapped, is no longer poop, and that it will magically dispose of itself. Dog poop, in my opinion, is not garbage that should end up in landfills. Rightly or wrongly, my dog’s poop is flushed down the toilet. But many, particularly those with swine fever, would rather let the rains wash them away.

Littering pigs, some of whom are also smoking pigs, are just as messy. The usual suspects are patrons of fast-food outlets, and convenience and sari-sari stores. Where waste baskets or garbage bins are hard to come by, the street and the sidewalk will do. Public roads — and the drainage systems — have become catch basins for plastic food containers, disposable coffee cups, and candy and food wrappers, and cigarette butts, courtesy of these pigs.

The tricky ones are the mobile-phone pigs. They are not as messy as the others also afflicted with swine fever. But, when they reveal themselves, it is hard to miss them. Loud ring tones are usually followed by loud, endless conversations on “unlimited” plans that allow them to go on, and on, and on. Private calls in public places likes restaurants and coffee shops, where they try to talk “above” the noise, and end up making the place even louder and noisier.

The worse variation of this affliction is the silent-type, where the pig is glued to his mobile phone screen and its audio output, closing his eyes and ears to the rest of the world. And while he thinks he is being “tidy” by keeping to himself, he forgets that he is either driving, crossing the street, or walking down the lane practically unmindful of others and everything else around him.

Of course, ours is not the only pigpen-capital in the world. Others may just be as dirty if not worse. For example, Paris residents love their dogs, too. But Paris is also the only city I have visited, so far, where they have pay- or coin-operated portable toilets on sidewalks where people — and maybe pets — can relieve themselves, when necessary. Simply put, we are not beyond hope.

Just as ASF can be licked, eventually, we don’t have to be swine forever. We can opt to live not in pig pens but in clean, orderly, peaceful cities. What can differentiate us from pigs is our ability to clean up after ourselves, and our ability to recognize the need to keep our “pens” clean for ourselves and for others. Even female dogs know when to clean up after their young and groom them. And we thought we are the evolved ones?

Marvin Tort is a former managing editor of BusinessWorld, and a former chairman of the Philippines Press Council.

matort@yahoo.com