Our Plan

What needs to be done?

We need to stop the illegal dog trade. We need to stop the brutality. We need to have the Animal Welfare Act implemented, and successfully prosecute the offenders.

However, it is a fact that these objectives are easier said than done. Stopping the illegal trade means taking away an approximate 14.5 million Pesos (or US$290,000) a month worth of livelihood and industry.

Implementing the law is easier said than done. It is a fact that there are many laws in the Philippines that are taken for granted or are not implemented at all. The Animal Welfare Act, which is relatively new in the country, is one of them. In Baguio City, our group is the first to file a criminal complaint for the violation of the Animal Welfare Act. Given the corrupt system in the country, it is hard to arrest the offenders and have them successfully prosecuted. If ever the law enforcers do initiate an arrest, most often, the offenders are set free, and resume their illegal activity. This is because the arrest is not a serious implementation of the law, but merely an act to appease a complaining party.

Does that mean this is a hopeless fight?

No. We believe we can do it, although there are security risks we will have to face. This is because the traders are not ordinary citizens. Some of them are friends of top local politicians. One of the identified illegal dog slaughterhouse is owned by a highranking police officer. These traders have the politicians and police as their protectors. These people too, can afford the services of the best lawyers.

How will we do it?

First, we intend to augment our present in-depth research, verification, and investigation to gather concrete evidence (admissible in court).

Second, we intend to seek the cooperation and help of an elite police group (not the local police) to do simultaneous raids and apprehension within the shortest span of time. In this way, the other offenders, will not have the time to pack up and relocate.

The tedious part is getting the arrested offenders successfully prosecuted. Here we need to hire good full- time lawyers. This is beacause, while there were arrests done, the offenders were meted with very light penalty that some of them are back to their illegal trade. We need good lawyers to see to it that the offenders will be convicted, and that the maximum penalty shall be meted on them, this is to prevent them from going back to their illegal activities and discourage others from doing it too.

If you have noticed, while PAL has initiated some of the arrests, they were not actively involved in the prosecution, and they did not even bother to secure a search warrant for the intended raid. Why is this so? Are they just concerned with the arrest and don’t care about the outcome?

We believe we cannot stop this illegal and inhuman activity this way. We have to attack the enemy from all sides, and we should see it through.

That is why, we have to gather concrete and complete data that will be used against the offenders and their supporters and protectors. We will be the witnesses and complainants in cases filed against them. Again, we have to see it through.

But it does not stop there. We need to see to it that the dogs shall be in good hands. That is why we also need to put up a temporary half way house, rehabilitation, and adoption center for the dogs. Temporary, because maintaining such a facility will cost millions of pesos in a year. The facility will just be intended to house the live dogs captured from the traders, where they will be given professional care and rehabilitation until they are ready for adoption.

PROGRAM COMPONENTS

1. Research and Documentation

Research and documentation is currently being undertaken by Linis Gobyerno in coordination with The Junction Regional Newspaper. This will be a continuous process, in that all the developments shall be recorded, and all aspects of the dog meat trade should have been covered and addressed. The output of the research and documentation shall reflect the outcome of the entire project and its individual components.

Part of this program is a production of a handbook that documents the entire process. This can be a guide for other groups faced with the same problems, who would want to replicate the project in their respective countries.

2. Public Information and Education

Public information and education is needed so that the populace will be informed of the following:

2.1 that a law, the Animal Welfare Act is in place which criminalizes cruelty to
animals

2.2 that eating of dog meat can be harmful to one’s health

2.3 that dogs are man’s best friend, and that they should be treated humanely This program component is also ongoing, in coordination with The Junction Regional Newspaper.

3. Legal

The legal aspect is intertwined with the research and documentation component. Linis Gobyerno shall be the complainant in all cases that will be filed against the violators. A private counsel to coordinate closely with Linis Gobyerno’s legal counsel, will be hired. Linis Gobyerno will be involved from the raid and apprehension, to filing of the necessary complaints and cases, and court hearings. This has to be done to see to it that violators will be fined and penalized to the maximum (as allowed for by law).

4. Establishment of a Dog Shelter (Halfway House and Rehabilitation Center)

The WCK Half Way House and Dog Rehabilitation Center was already started (albeit crudely). We named it WCK which stands for Winsome Constance Kindness, giving recognition to the group which started the ball rolling for the project.

A local resident has also donated a 1,000 sq. m. property at Itogon, Benguet, for use as the shelter’s permanent location. The property is 9 kilometers away from the Baguio City, and is very conducive for the dogs recovery and rehabilitation.

The proposed shelter will have so many needs, the biggest so far is the physical structure.

5. Spaying and Neutering Program

This program component will initially start with the dogs under the shelter’s custody (i.e. those recovered from police and legal operations), then will expand to the dogs under the custody of the City Dog Pound, which is under the supervision of the City Veterinary’s Office.

This is not a common practice in the Philippines considering the high cost involved. The procedure would cost around Php1,500.00 to Php2,000.00 or US$30.00- 40.00 (depending on the weight of the dog). The procedure entails administering of general anesthesia to the dog, and 24 hours monitoring (pre, intra, and post operation).

6. Tagging Program

Tagging is needed for identification purposes, most especially so that the recovered dogs (evidence) are the subject of the legal suits against the violators of the Animal Welfare Act. It is important to be able to have proper documentation on the dogs, such as where and when were they recovered, and who adopted them.

Tagging, like spaying and neutering is not a common practice in the Philippines, particularly in Baguio City. At this point, we are still seeking the help of professionals and animal welfare groups and shelters in the Philippines and in other countries, on the best possible means of tagging.

7. Adoption Program

Since the subject dogs are street dogs more commonly known in the Philippines as askals (asong kalye) or mongrels, the people are not receptive to adopting them. People still have reservations when it comes to adopting mature dogs vis-a-vis adopting a pedigreed puppy, in that they believe that they can no longer teach the dog, or that the loyalty of the dog is with his/her former owner.

That is why adoption is one program in itself that is again intertwined with other components of the project such as public information, spaying/neutering, and tagging. The shelter has to make the dogs adoptable, hence the need for treating the diseases and illnesses, and helping the dogs trust people again.

One basic characteristic of the dogs recovered from traders and slaughterhouses is their sad and untrusting disposition. It may take months for some of them to retain their gentle nature. It is at this point that they will become eligible for adoption for better retention.

Another aspect of the adoption is the post-adoption visits. We have to make sure that the dogs are doing well with their new families.

For a start, the first adopters will be the members of Linis Gobyerno, as we know our members very well. Aside from this, we want to be an example. We want to show to the populace that it is safe to adopt street dogs. As the old saying goes, if we want to effect change in the community, we should start within the family.

WHAT HAVE WE DONE SO FAR?

There is no faith which has never yet been broken, 

except that of a truly faithful dog.

-Konrad Lorenz (1903 - 1989)

             Austrian zoologist

Our Research Work

We are pleased to inform you that with the help of The Junction newspaper, we already have made an extensive documentation of the dog meat trade (market extent of trade, etc…) as far as Baguio and Benguet are concerned. The result of the research is (partly) this material you are reading now.

The documentation however, will continue until there is a need to do so.

A Baguio dog winning a Lewyt Animal Award for Heroism at the height of a typhoon, an askal, and formerly a stray, was able to save his master from certain death. It is estimated that 98% of dogs ending up in the food chain are askals. This dog hero is Dagul. Nominated by Linis Gobyerno upon the suggestion of some animal lovers in the U.S.A., Dagul was able to bag the September, 2003 Lewyt award.

With Dagul’s story in the forefront of the campaign, we hope to be able to do our work faster.

Information Dissemination

Information dissemination is being implemented again with the help of The Junction Newspaper. The articles in this paper are at times being picked up by other local papers and national media.

Dagul’s winning the award first saw print at The Junction newspaper. This story was picked up by national TV, ABS-CBN in their news program. Several other local and national papers also picked up the story.

In the international scene, The Animal People Newspaper is also doing us a lot of help in publicizing our works and advocacy.

In the internet, several animal welfare internet sites have linked up with our “dog project” page.

Lobbying Efforts

While this is not listed in our project’s Program Components, we nevertheless, have embarked on some lobbying efforts on the local courts and the local government.

In the local courts, we make them know that we are strictly monitoring the cases related to the illegal dog meat trade.

Our efforts have gained a considerable result when on July 1, 2003, Judge Agapito K. Laoagan, Jr. of MTC La Trinidad sentenced a first time offender to 6 months imprisonment. On his previous judgments on cases of violation of the Animal Welfare Act, this Judge just gives a penalty of P1,000.00 to P2,000.00. Though we still have a long way to go, we are happy that we are moving on.

In the local government, we are exerting some pressure on the local Executives and Legislators for them to enforce the Animal Welfare Act, in compliance with DILG Memorandum 2000-91, dated July 14, 2000.

In our lobbying efforts, all we can do in the meantime is to compel and pressure our local officials and the judiciary to do their job. Our group, Linis Gobyerno, will not hesitate to file charges against them, if they continue their acts of not taking the law seriously.

While we have just started our lobby efforts, we hope to be able to move on to the national government to move for some amendments to the Animal Welfare Act (particularly on increasing the penalties). We also hope to be able to compel the National Executive and Legislative Departments to create the Commission on Animal Welfare, a single body to oversee concerns on animal welfare in general as provided for in the Animal Welfare Act.