LA TRINIDAD, Benguet,
Philippines -- Dog tags are for soldiers, but two
officials here want dogs to wear them
too.
A dog tag is the small
piece of metal worn around the neck by a soldier
with his number on
it.
Benguet provincial board
members Juan Nazarro Jr. and Aloysius Kato said
the tag would help authorities identify the pet
owner who could be held liable if the animal
harmed or bit a neighbor, visitor or
passerby.
"I am a dog meat lover,"
Nazarro told the Inquirer. "But I also love dogs
as pets. I believe dogs must be properly taken
care of by their owners and kept within the
yard."
Nazarro and Kato proposed
the measure before the Sangguniang Panlalawigan
(Provincial Council) here after they were irked by
reports that many dogs in the province were still
set loose and
unrestrained.
Nazarro said stray dogs
"[are] an unlikely sight for a town known for its
strawberries and
vegetables."
He said he and Kato
decided to take the proposal seriously when the
provincial veterinarian's office confirmed that
many dogs were going astray and that they posed a
threat to the
public.
"Once these dogs bite
someone else, it is very hard to go after the
owner because no one knows who owns the dog,"
Nazarro said.
He wants the proposal be
enacted as a provincial ordinance and strictly
enforced by all barangays (villages) in the
province's 13
towns.
Under the proposal, which
would be set for public hearing, all dog owners
must register their pets every year in the
barangay where the owner
lives.
The list of registered
dogs and their owners from the barangays will be
submitted to the town government, which will
prepare a master list. The province, which will
later be furnished copies of the town
registration, will consolidate all the
lists.
Registry for
dogs
"It is like coming up with
a civil registry for dogs," Nazarro
said.
He said barangay officials
would provide the dog
tags.
If approved, the proposal
will mandate all dog owners to register their pets
within the first 20 days of January every
year.
For dogs born after the
registration period, the owner must still register
them within a month after
birth.
Even dogs from other
places must comply with the registration, the
proposal said.
Any person who enters the
province with his or her dog must go to the
nearest barangay office and register the animal
within five days.
Fine and
imprisonment
Asked by the Inquirer if
this covered dogs brought to the province for
restaurants and eateries, Nazarro said if the
animals were not butchered within five days, then
they must be
registered.
Those who fail to register
their dogs will be fined P2,000 but not more than
P5,000.
If the dog bites a person,
the owner will be fined P5,000 and will be
imprisoned for not more than one
year.
"This is to compel dog
owners to become responsible dog owners," Nazarro
said.
