Mayor Jejomar Binay called on the City Council to amend the existing ordinances to include stiffer penalties for owners of dogs who bite people. For starters, Binay suggested to impose a minimum P1,000 fee for dog owners to have their pets registered at their respective barangays. The fee is inclusive of vaccination shots.
In the meeting with City Hall department heads, City Health Officer Lourdes Salud, reported that at least eight persons are bitten by stray dogs daily or an average of 150 persons a month. A resident of Barangay West Rembo died recently from rabies.
"We have observed that the barangays are not so keen in implementing the ordinance against stray dogs," Salud said.
Binay said that the ordinances regarding dogs, Municipal Ordinance No. 93-092 which requires owners to register their dogs at barangay offices, and Ordinance No. 88-030 which prevents straying of dogs, should be amended and implemented strictly by the barangays and the Department of Public Safety.
Ruben Quiñones, coordinator of the Makati Health Department’s program against dog bites, said that 612 patients were given anti-rabies vaccination during the first half of the year.
Quiñones said six of the 397 victims from Barangays Guadalupe Nuevo, Palanan, Rizal and Pembo, were found positive for rabies, while others are still under observation.
"I enjoin the MAPSA, the MHD, school and barangay officials, to take part in a massive information drive on responsible pet ownership and rabies prevention," Binay said.
The mayor is optimistic that he could bring back the incidence of rabies in Makati to zero, which was achieved from 1998 to 2000.
Quinonez said the MHD and MAPSA had vaccinated a total of 5,325 dogs in the city from January to June 2001, and are targeting to triple the figure until December. – Marvin Sy