ON a weekend that is traditionally reserved for Filipinos to remember and honor their dearly departed, shocking news emerged about a grisly discovery in a vacant lot in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan: nearly 30 dead pets, most of them dogs, but including a couple of cats, unceremoniously dumped by the pet cremation service that the pets’ owners had entrusted to respectfully handle their four-legged family members’ remains. The news caused an instant eruption of public rage, and it is entirely appropriate that it did so. Whatever other social shortcomings might be ascribed to Filipinos, all but a very few misfits are compassionate and caring toward animals, especially those we count as part of our own households.
The offending business was quickly identified as Ahjay Paws Aftercare Pet Crematorium in Bacoor, Cavite, whose registered owner is a certain Jonathan Legaspi; the business reportedly has a second location in Caloocan, but this has not been confirmed. Identification was possible because, in a rather stupid move for someone who is carrying out a crime, all of the deceased pets, which were individually wrapped in plastic, were labeled with their names and other identifying information.
Ahjay Paws Aftercare and Legaspi himself quickly deleted all their social media accounts after the discovery, and in media reports on Tuesday morning, Legaspi declared he would no longer cooperate with authorities in their investigation, and would instead wait for the filing of formal charges. To his credit, Bacoor City Mayor Strike Revilla moved quickly to get the legal process rolling, ordering the business padlocked after it was unable to provide documentation showing that the discarded pets were properly handled.
In terms of the possible legal liability of the business or the owner, the sad incident has revealed what is, perhaps, a bit of a gap between public sentiment and applicable consequences. As things now stand, the business could be charged with simple estafa, in that it evidently accepted payment from customers for services that were not subsequently rendered. As for the perception that dumping the deceased pets was an act of animal cruelty, the law unfortunately does not address that; as the animals were already dead, the existing animal cruelty laws do not apply. Though it may be shocking to most people, the only other charge that might be applicable is illegal dumping under the Solid Waste Act.
Naturally, a number of political personalities immediately seized on the tragic development to gain some media mileage, with a number of legislators proposing new laws or amendments to the existing animal cruelty laws to prevent a repeat of this distressing case. Among these, Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian had, perhaps, the most sensible response, calling for a Senate inquiry into the incident, the several other similar incidents that have been reported (although not confirmed), and the possible shortcomings in existing laws that failed to prevent this, or exact appropriate consequences for it.
From our perspective, there are two problems that need to be solved. First, although it may sound rather cold to put it in these terms, the disposal of animal remains is a public health issue. An animal carcass is potentially infectious hazardous waste; it must be disposed of in a responsible and hygienic manner to minimize that risk.
Second, and this is probably the more important point to our audience, pets do deserve dignified and compassionate treatment. The way we treat animals reflects the way we treat others, and these animals were all loved and cherished members of somebody’s family. To outsiders, pets may seem unimportant, but they are certainly not to the families who care for them.
The high value we as a society place on our nonhuman family members is reflected in the astonishing economic strength of the Philippines’ pet care and retail market. Statistics vary, but pet ownership in the Philippines is among the highest in Asia, with between 80 percent and 94 percent of households owning at least one. The pet care market was valued at $381.4 million (P24.41 billion) in 2024, and is projected to grow to $598.1 million (P38.28 billion at current exchange rates) by 2029, a compound annual growth rate of 9.4 percent.
There are dozens of businesses offering pet funerary services, and fortunately it seems that the business involved in the present despicable case is a definite outlier, as there have been widespread public calls among other service providers for tighter regulation and licensing. We think that is a very good idea, and it would seem that lawmakers are inclined to move in that direction, although it may take some time.
