In 2014, officials of Barangay Nangka in Marikina City launched the “Hulihin ang Daga sa Nangka (Catch the Rat in Nangka)” program to get citizens involved in the eradicating rodents from the area.
Barangay captain Randy G. Leal is credited for starting the scheme that rewarded citizens with one kilo or rice for each rat they kill.
Now, Barangay Nangka’s rat annihilation scheme is working so well — what with some people becoming expert rat-slayers.
In a TV Patrol report, a Barangay Nangka resident named Mark Anthony Fernandez (not the actor) proudly revealed that he sets up traps and can easily retrieve rats from them.
The report said that some people bring in as many as five rats each day. That means they get five kilos of rice.
Barangay Nangka officials are quite proud of their rat termination scheme and encourage other barangays to adopt it, too, as getting rid of rats also reduces the incidence of leptospirosis.
