FOUR dogs were poisoned by security guards of the San Pedro Village in Buhangin, Davao City, on Monday, December 14, 2020.
The incident was posted online on Monday morning and garnered almost 5,000 reactions with 17,000 shares as of Tuesday afternoon, December 15.
Ivan, name withheld, told SunStar Davao in a phone interview on Tuesday that his relative uploaded online the pictures and videos of the dead dogs lying on the streets.
He said the dogs were not strays as they were adopted by a resident living in a compound.
His relative claimed that the head guard of the village was the alleged mastermind behind the incident. The security guard can be seen in a video interview that was uploaded together with the photos.
In the video, the guard, whose name was not mentioned, admitted she was the one who instructed the killing of the dogs using Methomyl or Lannate, an insecticide fatal even on humans.
The village guard said they came up with the idea to poison the dogs after receiving complaints from homeowners that some of them were chased by these dogs when they were jogging.
The guard also said a food delivery rider was reportedly bitten by one of the dogs.
Some residents, according to the guard, also complained about their noise.
Prior to the poisoning, the guard said, they reported the dogs to the city dog pound but they did not receive any response.
"Naisip lang nako nga ing-ana pero dili pud ko magbuhat nga wala ko nagpahibalo. Nagpahibalo mi (I thought about this plan but I wouldn’t execute it if I didn’t inform them)," the guard said in the video, adding she told her plan to poison the dogs to a certain Lisa.
However, Ivan refuted the security chief's claim that the dogs were harming or disturbing the residents.
He also said the owner was not even aware of the complaints.
"Suko kaayo siya kay mao lang pud unta iyang guard dog sa iyang compound (The pet owner was angry because these dogs were his guard dogs in their compound)," he said.
In case there were complaints, Ivan said they could have reported it to the homeowners association or to the barangay.
"Gipatay man nila diretso. Dapat gipa-barangay sa unta nila or giadto sa board sa subdivision. Dapat naa diplomasya. Naay proseso dili ingon pag-ingon nila nga 'sakit sa mata', patyon nila diretso (They just killed those dogs without taking this matter to the barangay or the homeowners association. There should have been diplomacy in resolving the matter. It is an inappropriate process to reason out that just because they are an eyesore, you would just kill them)," Ivan said.
Although he is still not aware if the owner will file complaints against the perpetrators, he thinks that the owner should pursue filing charges against them.
"Unta kasuhan na sila para di pud mamihasa. Foul gyud to ilang gihimo (I hope the owner will file charges. That is a foul action)," Ivan said.
'Unlawful'
Animal rights group Bantay Hayop Davao condemned the poisoning of the dogs in Buhangin.
While problems about stray dogs in the city remain to "pose threat to public safety and public health," the group said disposing of them by means of poisoning is a crime.
The group said the action is in violation of Republic Act (RA) 10631 or the Animal Welfare Act of 1998.
"Killing these animals as amended by RA 10631 under Sec 2. is declared unlawful. If this practice of killing animals by poisoning continues, it is a blatant disrespect to the Philippine Laws. It is also a display of how Filipinos lack the compassion towards the animals," Bantay Hayop said in a forwarded statement.
The group said animals become strays due to irresponsible pet ownership.
"Animals turned strays due to the lack of sense of responsibility from their previous owners. It is not the fault of the dog or the cat that they ended on the streets and have to fend for themselves," the group said.
They also said the "means of legal disposal of stray animals" of the city is not a solution to solve the stray problem in the long term.
According to the Anti-Stray Ordinance of Davao City, the City Pound euthanizes unclaimed impounded dogs after three days.
"It has not significantly contributed to the solution to the problem, hence we still have an overwhelming number of strays on the streets and even the increased number of rabies cases on animals and humans," Bantay Hayop said.
The group is currently lobbying for an ordinance to push for responsible pet ownership and making violators accountable.
Bantay Hayop also reminded homeowners association to "take more compassionate actions towards the homeless companion animals."
Meanwhile, Sheena Garde Lumayaga of Pet Avenue, a group of individual animal rescuers teaming up to sell organic pet care products, urged the owner to file a complaint against the security agency.
"Dapat ang agency ang i-call out dyan dahil I think wala yan sa training nila how to handle strays sa village na pinagtatrabahuan nila (The security agency should be called out because they were not trained how to handle stray animals in villages they are working)," Lumayaga told SunStar through Messenger.
Davao City Police Office (DCPO) Spokesperson Captain Rose Aguilar said the Buhangin Police District is already investigating the incident after they saw the Facebook post.
As of Tuesday, Aguilar said the owner has not formally filed a complaint, which is needed for the proper filing of a case.
The police official also said that they will look into the incident, and reiterated that they have animal welfare desks in all city police stations to cater to complaints on animal abuse.
"Dapat kung naay ing-ana nga incident, ipahibalo sa mga police station aron maimbestigahan (In this incident, the complainant should file their complaints to the police station in order for us to conduct an investigation)," Aguilar said.