Stray dog in Manila becomes barangay frontliner; gets own quarantine pass

Ligaw the dog, who is a COVID-19 frontliner in Barangay 496, Sampaloc, Manila. Image: Facebook/Dave Manzano Fuentes

MANILA, Philippines — A stray dog in Barangay 496, Sampaloc, Manila brought smiles to the residents in the community as it accompanied local officials in distributing relief goods amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis.

https://www.facebook.com/dorkiedaveyyy/videos/3343599998989058/

In a Facebook post by Dave Manzano Fuentes on April 5, it showed the dog, named “Ligaw” wearing its own quarantine pass as his caretaker, barangay chairman Edmond Dela Paz, was tending to the locals in the area.

Fuentes told INQUIRER.net in an online exchange on Friday that Ligaw became a frontliner after the dog ended up in their area. Soon after, Dela Paz adopted Ligaw.

“[Everytime] na magkasama sila ni kapitan eh hindi po siya nakatali,” Fuentes said. “Harmless naman siya.”

(Everytime that the dog is with the captain, he’s not tied to a leash. He’s harmless too.)

And Ligaw also ended up melting netizens’ hearts as well, as Fuentes’ post racked up 5,200 likes and reactions as of writing.

Edited by JPV