11/10/2026
๐๐ต๐ฎ๐น๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ด๐ฒ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ผ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ป: ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ป ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฐ
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
A dog cannot file a complaint. It cannot name its abuser, defend itself in a courtroom, or seek justice whenever it is being ill-treated. All it can do is cry and struggle while hoping that somebody will care enough to help. Unfortunately, in a world where cruelty can be turned into profit, such hopes have been taken away.
On October 6, 2026, authorities conducted an operation in Bauang, La Union, resulting in the arrest of a 51-year-old fisherman suspected of involvement in the illegal dog meat trade. Two dogs were rescued from the alleged operation, according to reports involving the Animal Kingdom Foundation. While the rescue spared two animals from a possible cruel fate, the incident raises a disturbing question: How many others were not fortunate enough to be found?
What makes this incident even more troubling is its timing. October is observed by animal welfare advocates as World Animal Month, with World Animal Day celebrated every October 4. It is supposed to be a time to recognize the importance of animals and encourage compassion toward them. Yet, just two days after the celebration, an alleged illegal dog-selling operation was uncovered in our own province.
The irony is difficult to ignore. We celebrate animals for their loyalty and companionship, yet some still see them as nothing more than objects to be bought, sold, or discarded.
Sadly, the problem extends far beyond Bauang.
According to the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS), nearly 800 animal cruelty cases were reported to the organization in 2025, but only seven resulted in the filing of legal charges. That is ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐๐๐๐๐ reaching that stage of legal action.
These numbers do not represent every case of animal abuse in the Philippines. Many incidents may never be witnessed, documented, or reported. Still, they reveal an uncomfortable reality: public outrage does not always lead to justice.
Another troubling figure comes from the 2024 State of Pet Homelessness Project by Mars Petcare, which estimated that approximately 13.11 million cats and dogs in the Philippines were homeless, representing around 41 percent of the country's estimated cat and dog population.
Being homeless does not automatically mean an animal has been abused. However, living without a stable home can leave animals exposed to hunger, disease, injury, and mistreatment. For millions of them, surviving another day is already a struggle.
These figures should make us question how sincere our compassion really is.
Filipinos are often proud of being animal lovers. We call our pets family, celebrate their birthdays, buy them clothes, and post their photographs online. But our kindness should not stop with the animals sleeping comfortably inside our homes.
What about the aspin searching for food beside the road? The cat being chased away with stones? The dog tied under the sun without clean water? Or the animals whose suffering remains hidden behind the illegal meat trade?
Animal cruelty does not always involve blood or visible injuries. Sometimes, it comes in the form of neglect, abandonment, starvation, or the simple refusal to recognize that animals can feel pain and fear.
The Philippines already has laws against these acts. Republic Act No. 8485, or the Animal Welfare Act, as amended by Republic Act No. 10631, provides protection against animal cruelty. Republic Act No. 9482, or the Anti-Rabies Act of 2007, also prohibits trading dogs for meat. Under the latter law, a person found guilty of such trading faces imprisonment of one to four years and a fine of at least โฑ5,000 per dog.
The problem, therefore, is not simply the absence of laws. It is whether these laws are consistently enforced and whether witnesses are willing to help bring offenders to justice.
An arrest may make the headlines today, but what happens after the public moves on? Will the case reach the courts? Will witnesses cooperate? Will the rescued animals receive proper care? These questions matter because justice does not end with an arrest.
Of course, responsibility cannot rest on law enforcement and animal welfare organizations alone. Communities must also refuse to tolerate cruelty. Concerned citizens should safely document suspected abuse and report it to barangay officials or the police, rather than relying solely on social media posts. Local governments must strengthen rescue efforts, responsible pet ownership programs, and humane population control through vaccination and spaying or neutering.
More importantly, we must stop treating compassion as something reserved only for animals we personally own.
The two dogs rescued in Bauang were fortunate that people intervened. Their survival should be welcomed, but it should not make us forget the countless animals whose suffering goes unnoticed.
World Animal Month should mean more than social media greetings, pet photographs, and hashtags. If we genuinely value the lives of animals, that concern must continue long after October ends.
After all, an animal's life does not become less valuable simply because it cannot speak our language. Its pain is still pain. Its fear is still fear. And its life deserves protection, even without a human voice demanding it.
๐๐ณ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐ต๐ผ๐ผ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐น๐ผ๐ผ๐ธ ๐ฎ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐น๐ ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ฎ๐ป๐ถ๐บ๐ฎ๐น ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ธ ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ต๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ, ๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ต๐ฎ๐ฝ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ผ๐๐ ๐๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ฏ๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ถ๐น๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ป๐ผ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ถ๐ฟ๐, ๐ฏ๐๐ ๐ผ๐๐ฟ๐.
By Obiter Dicta
