
A Bulacan resident was found guilty of violating the Animal Welfare Act (AWA) of 1998 when he failed to bring a dog he had adopted to a veterinarian despite knowing the dog was sick.
In his 11-page decision released in late December last year, Judge Edmond B. Lorenzo of the Municipal Trial Court of Santa Maria, Bulacan found Mark Conrad Nepomuceno guilty beyond reasonable doubt for the neglect of “Cash,” a dog earlier rescued by the non-government organization Save Animals of Love and Light (Save ALL) in 2014.
Nepomuceno was fined P50,000 with subsidiary imprisonment in case of insolvency and failure to pay the fine.
Last January 28, Save ALL's lawyer, Ma. Theresa Balagtas-Gupo, filed a motion to issue a writ of execution. This was approved for filing by Fiscal Ma. Clara B. de la Cruz.
Neglect is punishable under the AWA or Republic Act 8485, as amended by RA 10631.
The decision said Nepomuceno “failed to exercise reasonable steps to prevent death of the dog named Cash.”
“It was not enough for him to say that he was busy with his work which has allowed Cash to suffer his death. For these reasons, the prosecution was able to establish beyond reasonable doubt that the accused was neglectful of this dog named Cash. Consequently, accused conviction follows as a consequence,” it added.
Save ALL welcomed the decision.
“This decision serves as a reminder that neglecting to care for our pets is punishable under the law. We hope this would help promote awareness and a culture of care and concern for our pets who should be treated humanely,” Save ALL founder Desiree Carlos said.
Carlos said their group helps adopters when needed, including assistance in paying medical costs when needed. However, Save ALL was not informed of the actual condition of “Cash.”
In December 2014, Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Anna Maria Angela V. Garcia filed a case against Nepomuceno for violating the AWA.
In the complaint, Nepomuceno was accused of “willfully and unlawfully” neglecting “Cash” and two other adopted dogs “Potchie” and “Blackie” between August 7 to 10, 2014 and August 12, 2014. The three dogs were adopted from Save ALL. The group was represented by Mary Guinevere R. Cedeno, Maricel Mondejar, and Edward Mary Jane Quema, members of their administrative team.
On adopted dog “Blackie,” the decision noted that while the prosecution witnesses “are in unison in saying that the accused ‘s version as to the whereabouts of the dog named ‘Blackie’ were full of inconsistencies,” it failed to establish neglect.
Nepomuceno earlier claimed that the dog was in his parent’s house in San Rafael, Bulacan but later informed the complainants through Facebook that the dog went missing as early as July 29, 2014. The witnesses said Nepomuceno admitted to them that he gave “Blackie” to a certain Boy Villa which was confirmed by the latter’s father.
“However, even if any or all of these conflicting claims of the accused be true, it does not establish beyond reasonable doubt that accused was neglectful of ‘Blackie’,” it said.
Another adopted dog “Potchie” also died but the court said neglect was also not established beyond reasonable doubt.
Nepomuceno had first adopted “Potchie,” who was rescued from the streets of Mandaluyong, on April 6, 2014. Because “Potchie” looked happy in photos sent by Nepomuceno to the admin team of Save ALL, he was allowed to adopt “Cash” and “Blackie” on June 7, 2014.
But in August, 2014, Nepomuceno posted in the group page of Save ALL that “Cash” was dead. The Save ALL admin team and members of the group were shocked by his post because they were not informed that the dog was sick.
In the comment section of the post, he admitted he did not bring the dog to the vet for medical assessment and treatment.
The decision took note of the testimony of prosecution witness Mondejar, who told the court that “Cash” died on August 7, 2014, "barely a month after the dog was turned over to him (Nepomuceno), and the accused said that Cash showed signs of weakness but admitted that he was not able to bring the dog to the vet as he did not have enough money.”
These statements were corroborated by another prosecution witness, Cedeno.
“For his part, accused testified that when he noticed Cash showing signs of weakness in the morning of his death, he gave him first aid like water plus sugar. He did not consider bringing Cash to the veterinarian for check-up because the typhoon had just passed by, and the vet med was closed,” the decision said.
The decision cited Rule 6.7 of the implementing rules and regulations (IRR) of the AWA on the responsibilities of pet owners and handlers: “Owners of animals and/or persons in charge, responsible for animals are required to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the physical, health, and behavioral needs of the animals are met in accordance with good practice and scientific knowledge.
“They are also required to ensure that the animals receive, where practicable, treatment that alleviates any unreasonable or unnecessary pain or distress from which the animals are suffering. Pet Owners, handlers and/or those who have animals under their care and custody are mandated to practice and abide by the principles of responsible pet ownership xxx.”
The decision noted that Nepomuceno had signed an adoption contract prepared by Save ALL which has a provision that the adopter must update Save ALL on the status or condition of the adopted rescue.
“In this case, the accused admitted that he was not able to inform Save All about the fact of sickness of Cash and that from the time that he adopted Cash until his death, he was not brought to a veterinarian for check-up because he was busy with his work,” the decision said.
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