A dog shooting incident

Dog shot down at a public plaza by a Barangay Captain

I read from a Facebook post about a dog that was shot down by a Barangay Captain for the reason that it defecates in the public plaza and was seen roaming around. The incident was witnessed by a lot of people but nobody dared to stand-witness in favor to the dog's owner.

The dog is a cross-breed of Labrador Retriever-Japanese Spitz and Aspin. The incident happened on October 18, 2014, Saturday, at around 8:30 in the morning.

Here's the post taken on a Facebook wall from one of the supporter against animal cruelty:

Hi po share ko lang po yong nangyari sa aso ni maam LYN GUMBAN ARAGONES pinatay po ng walang awang BRGY. CAPTAIN sa lugar nila....ito po ay nangyari sa brgy. Esteban Lapuz Iloilo City....  binaril po yong aso kase ang reason ng capitan dumudumi sa plaza nila at pagala gala.....marami daw ang saksi ngunit wala po lakas ng loob na tumulong para mag witness kay maam LYN ... ang nangyari lumabas c maam Lyn sa bahay nila nong umaga di nya napansin na nakalabas ang aso nya na si TART...may nkapag sabi kay maam Lyn na tumatakbo yong aso papuntang plaza and binaril ito....nakita nila na pinipilit ng aso na mag lakad papunta pabalik sa bahay nila kaso huli na po ang lahat patay na ang aso.....kinunan nalang po ng picture isa sa mga relatives ni maam Lyn para may evidencia....and GAWAIN PO NG WALANG HIYANG CAPTAIN YONG PAMAMARIL SA MGA ASO SA LUGAR NILA... ngayon kinonfronta po ito ni maam lyn ang rason nya pagala gala at dumudumi kaya binaril nya at nag banggit pa po sya na uubosin nya ang mga aso na gala gala pinag mayabang pa daw nya na dami na dw sya nilason na aso at babayaran nalng dw si maam lyn kapalit sa aong pinatay nya... ;( pina blotter nalang po ni maam lyn...purpose ko po ng pag share baka makarating s ibang media at ma tuonan ng pansin itong bagay na to kase marami ang abusado sa postion nila naturingan pa naman na CAPITAN DAPAT SYA ANG MAGING GOOD EXAMPLE SA NASASAKUPAN NYA 

[REPUBLIC ACT NO. 10631] - AN ACT AMENDING CERTAIN SECTIONS OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8485, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS “THE ANIMAL WELFARE ACT OF 1998″ which was approved on October 3, 2013 states that:

... 

SEC. 6. It shall be unlawful for any person to torture any animal, to neglect to provide adequate care, sustenance of shelter, or maltreat any animal or to subject any dog or horse to dogfights or horse fights, kill or cause or procure to be tortured or deprived of adequate care, sustenance or shelter, or maltreat or use the same in research or experiments not expressly authorized by the Committee on Animal Welfare.

The killing of any animal other than cattle pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabaos, horses, deer and crocodiles is likewise hereby declared unlawful except in the following instances:

 (1) When it is done as part of the religious rituals of an established religion or sect or a ritual required by tribal or ethnic custom of indigenous cultural communities; however, leaders shall keep records in cooperation with the Committee on Animal Welfare;

(2) When the pet animal is afflicted with an incurable communicable disease as determined and certified by a duly licensed veterinarian;

(3) When the killing is deemed necessary to put an end to the misery suffered by the animal as determined and certified by a duly licensed veterinarian;

(4) When it is done to prevent an imminent danger to the life or limb of a human being;

(5) When done for the purpose of animal population control;

(6) When the animal is killed after it has been used in authorized research or experiments; and

(7) Any other ground analogous to the foregoing as determined and certified licensed veterinarian.
In all the above mentioned cases, including those of cattle, pigs, goats, sheep, poultry, rabbits, carabaos, horses, deer and crocodiles the killing of the animals shall be done through humane procedures at all times.

For this purpose, humane procedures shall mean the use of the most scientific methods available as may be determined and approved by the committee.

Only those procedures approved by the Committee shall be used in the killing of animals.
 ...

SEC. 9. Any person who subjects any animal to cruelty, maltreatment or neglect shall, upon conviction by final judgment, be punished by imprisonment and/ or fine, as indicated in the following graduated scale:

“(1) Imprisonment of one (1) year and six (6) months and one (1) day to two (2) years and/or a fine not exceeding One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) if the animal subjected to cruelty, maltreatment or neglect dies;
“(2) Imprisonment of one (1) year and one (1) day to one (1) year and six (6) months and/or a fine not exceeding Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00) if the animal subjected to cruelty, maltreatment or neglect survives but is severely injured with loss of its natural faculty to survive on its own and needing human intervention to sustain its life; and
“(3) Imprisonment of six (6) months to one (1) year and/or a fine not exceeding Thirty thousand pesos (P30,000.00) for subjecting any animal to cruelty, maltreatment or neglect but without causing its death or incapacitating it to survive on its own.

“If the violation is committed by a juridical person, the officer responsible thereof shall serve the imprisonment. If the violation is committed by an alien, he or she shall be immediately deported after the service of sentence without any further proceeding.
“The foregoing penalties shall also apply for any other violation of this Act, depending upon the effect or result of the act or omission as defined in the immediately preceding sections.
“However, regardless of the resulting condition to the animal/s, the penalty of two (2) years and one (1) day to three (3) years and/or a fine not exceeding Two hundred fifty thousand pesos (P250,000.00) shall be imposed if the offense is committed by any of the following: (1) a syndicate; (2) an offender who makes business out of cruelty to an animal; (3) a public officer or employee; or (4) where at least three (3) animals are involved.
“In any of the foregoing situations, the offender shall suffer subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency and the inability to pay the fine.”

Click here to view the full content in PDF format. Source site is www.gov.ph

How to report animal cruelty if you happen to witness the incident?

The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) has provided this summary:

Click image to manually adjust the zoom settings. Image taken from PAWS site.

Please click here to visit their site for more detailed info on how to report animal cruelty. Anna Cabrera, PAWS Executive Director was quoted as saying:

For all posts of cruelty 'going viral', simple lang - give us the affidavit, we will review for free and the affiant will come with us to swear in front of Prosecutor that everything she stated in this affidavit is true so that the case will be filed. Ok lang mag-share, re-tweet, etc. pero sana mag-file din ng case because we cannot hope to get justice only from social networking sites. Justice is secured by filing criminal charges.

Do you think anybody has the authority to kill any dog in public of which the reason is not specified in the items listed in Sec. 6?

I would appreciate to hear your opinions or insights on this matter at the comment box below.