BY GEROME DALIPE IV
ILOILO City – The City Council has passed an ordinance that intends to protect and promote the welfare of animals in this metropolis.
The Council approved the Iloilo City Animal Welfare Council during their session on July 3 and designated October of each year as “Animal Welfare Month” in Iloilo City.
City Councilor Miguel S. Treñas, the ordinance’s principal author, emphasized the need for a comprehensive legislative framework to regulate companion animal trade, promote responsible pet stewardship, and establish an intelligence network for monitoring zoonotic diseases and other animal welfare concerns.
“The City of Iloilo, as a highly urbanized city, is committed to demonstrating its dedication to promoting the rights of animals, as well as ensuring the health, sanitation, and welfare of its residents, visitors, and tourists,” the ordinance read.
The council passed the ordinance aimed at promoting the humane treatment of animals to ensure the well-being of animals and advancing a culture of compassion and responsibility among its residents.
The measure acknowledges that animals are integral to human existence, supplying not just food and sustenance essential to human life but also providing labor and companionship that deeply enhance the quality of life.
The council notes that animals are being exploited by humans in the form of experimentation for new products. Human activities also destroy animals’ natural habitats and their environment, endangering the animals’ natural habitats and their welfare.
In 1998, Congress passed Republic Act 8485, or the Animal Welfare Act, which provides protection and promotes the welfare of animals in the country.
Despite the enactment of the above law, the council says cases of animal cruelty, exploitation, and even serious neglect persist.
“The City of Iloilo must enact a statute to establish policies, rules, and regulations for the protection of the people and to integrate animal welfare as the guiding principles in all laws, policies, and regulations regarding companion animals,” the ordinance states.
Under this measure, the Office of the City Veterinarian (OCV) was designated as a lead office to enforce the ordinance.
These include regulating the keeping of domestic animals, rescue, prevention, rehabilitation, and providing care for stray animals, especially those that have no owners, are unregistered, or uncared for, in any public place within the city;
The veterinary office personnel will also establish a workable disease investigation, surveillance, reporting, and appraisal of the animal disease intelligence network.
They will also conduct free spay and neuter programs to control the population of stray animals and information and education campaigns on responsible pet ownership and stewardship in the city.
The veterinary office will take charge of the operation and management of the Iloilo City Pound and Animal Shelter (ICPAS).
Under the ordinance, ICPAS will be a two-part facility with distinct functions, namely, the Iloilo City Pound and the Iloilo City CARE Animal Shelter.
The facility will serve as a temporary holding area for newly captured or impounded stray companion animals wherein they will be given animal care, and for record-keeping and transfer or adoption.
Likewise, a Task Force for Animal Welfare Enforcement will be created and responsible for apprehending violators and conducting regular inspections for compliance, among others.
It is also stipulated in the ordinance that there should be a City Rabies Prevention and Control Program to be implemented by the OCV.
Its component activities include mass vaccination of dogs and cats; establishment of a central database system for registered and vaccinated dogs and cats; impounding, field control, and disposition of unregistered, stray, and unvaccinated dogs and cats, among others.
Under the ordinance, pet owners or stewards are mandated to ensure regular vaccination of their dogs and cats against rabies and maintain a registration card containing all vaccination records for accurate documentation; and other necessary care demonstrating responsible ownership and stewardship.
Under the companion animal registration, all dogs and cats, upon reaching three months of age and older, must be vaccinated against rabies and registered at the veterinary office every year.
The city will implement a Pet Identification and Unified Data Storage with a Microchip System wherein each registered dog or cat shall be implanted with a microchip, a permanent and tamper-proof electronic/digital identification and data storage system.
Likewise, the ordinance prohibits individuals from torturing or maltreating any animal or neglecting to provide adequate care, sustenance, or shelter or causing or procuring to be tortured or deprived of adequate care, sustenance, or shelter, or maltreat or cause the same for research or experiment and fights unauthorized by law.
Those found guilty of these acts will be penalized under Republic Act No. 8485, also known as “The Animal Welfare Act of 1998”, as amended by Republic Act No. 10631./PN
