3 jailed for owning pets in Marikina resettlements

Man’s best friend and feline pals must be getting scarcer in Marikina City, where pet owners residing in some areas are arrested for violating the local law on animal sanitation and their beloved cats and dogs are impounded or sent to the wildlife center.

The Marikina City police sent three people to jail on July 30 for violation of the Marikina Veterinary Code of 2007. Arrested in separate locations were pet owners Dante Santiago, Elvie Balovar and Lilibeth Hunggay.

All three were cited for violating the section prohibiting residents of resettlement areas in Marikina from owning pets. Balovar and Hunggay were also booked for violating provisions relating to antirabies vaccinations and for allowing their pet dogs to roam freely.

The three live in resettlement areas in Marikina Heights, Malanday and Tumana. More than 28,300 households are covered by the ban which is  intended to keep these communities free of animal filth, noise and injuries resulting from animal bites, said Dr. Manuel Carlos, the city veterinarian.

The restriction was first imposed during the term of then Mayor Bayani Fernando, according to public information office chief Paul Edward Sison.

Back then, the units built to relocate informal settlers had an area of only 24 square meters each and were erected close to each another. Although the homes have since been enlarged, animal excrement continues to be risk factors for disease in such areas, Carlos said.

In 2013, authorities caught nearly 2,300 pet owners violating the ban, including residents who kept 66 fighting cocks and six snakes.

Groups advocating animal welfare have criticized the measure, saying it curtailed the residents’ “right” to own pets. Carlos argued, however, that their view stemmed from a misconception.

“Owning pets is a privilege, not a right. Otherwise, condominiums and malls would have been reprimanded for prohibiting ownership,” he said, adding that the right to health and safety were the “true legal rights” addressed by the measure.