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Help speak up for Buddy (one of the dogs rescued in the March 31, 2007 dogfight raid) and other dogs like him who are exploited and abused by heartless people who are into dogfights. Pitbulls actually make great pets. It’s unscrupulous dogfighters who give the breed bad training and a bad reputation.

Dear animal lovers,

As CIDG agents, PAWS volunteers and veterinarians present their affidavits to the Antipolo City Prosecutor’s Office on Friday, April 20, 2007, animal advocates will be carrying signs condemning the illegal and cruel practice of dogfighting between 10 to 10.30 am in front of the Antipolo City Hall.

Volunteers without means of transport who wish to join the peaceful picket can go to PARC at 8am of the same day so that they can avail of carpooling services.

For other inquiries, please call 475-1688 or 0922-8815600.

Thank you.

-The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)

Map to Antipolo City Hall here

The area is about 11 kilometers away from Marikina Riverbanks and Eastwood City. It is a few blocks away from the Ynares Center, Cristimar Village, and the SuperPalengke. Along M. L. Quezon Street. Very near Antipolo Church. All the locals are familiar with the place.

Please click on link below to view INQUIRER article on the release of dog fight suspects who were caught in a raid last March 31, 2007:

Inquirer Article

NOTE FROM PAWS:

Betting tickets, money from the cashier, video of the raid and video confiscated from the dogfighters which showed actual dogfight, along with the statements of eight (8) CIDG agents who went undercover and the affidavit of PAWS volunteers who were there at the raid, were among the pieces of evidence presented to 4th Assistant City Prosecutor Corazon C. Sampayo on the April 2 inquest.

PAWS also informed the Asst. Prosecutor that the affidavit of the treating veterinarian was forthcoming. (Arrest happened on Saturday evening, dogs were treated up to the wee hours of the morning of Sunday. Inquest was scheduled 8 am of Monday, April 2.)

‘Suspects’ were released by Asst. Prosecutor Sampayo due to “lack of evidence” and the case is up for further investigation.

It is interesting to note that one of the Thai suspects was able to leave the country on the day of the Inquest itself when we were informed by the Prosecutor’s office at 5pm of the same day that there was still no decision to release any of the suspects.

The investigative hearing is set on April 20, 10 am at Antipolo City Prosecutor’s Office , Antipolo City Hall. All affidavits, including the veterinarians’ affidavits, will be submitted then.

We are calling on all members of media to help cover this as this case is in danger of being “whitewashed”.

Thank you.

- The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)

Suspects in Antipolo dog fight released
 
By Kristine L. Alave
Inquirer 
Posted date: April 14, 2007
MANILA, Philippines — Fourteen suspects charged with animal cruelty and illegal gambling for their alleged involvement in a dog fight in Antipolo City have been released.An animal rights group expressed outrage over the decision of the Antipolo City Prosecutor’s Office to let the suspects go.In her April 2 decision, Antipolo City Assistant Prosecutor Corazon Sampayo said there was no sufficient evidence against the suspects who were arrested during a raid at a cockpit in the city.Sampayo said no veterinarian had issued an affidavit to support the allegation that the two pitbulls confiscated by the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group were used in a dog fight. She added that the police did not present proof that the suspects were involved in illegal gambling.
The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) decried Sampayo’s decision, saying the footage they presented showed a dog fight in progress. The organization said it might file administrative charges against the prosecutor. PAWS also feared that the release of the suspects would lead to the dismissal of the case.

On the evening of March 31, acting on a tip from PAWS, CIDG agents led by Senior Insp. Ernesto V. Padilla stormed the Kaysakat Cockpit Arena in Sitio Kaysakat, Barangay Inarawan.

They arrested 14 people, including the alleged mastermind of the dog fight, Danny Tan Sy, a resident of Barangay San Jose, Antipolo City.

Also arrested were Romeo Demition, Juliet de Leon, Efren Villacora, Eric Fernandez, Jay Francisco, Allan Lim-it, Santy Gutierres, Mark Vasco, Efren Bagtas Jr., and Rouie Romano.

Police also arrested three Thai nationals who were identified as Kittiya Phungmung Boonyang, Timothy Amel Dharmajiva, and Phanuwat Jinda Nunthawat. All three left the country last week.
 

For those who may wish to extend financial or legal help or help with media exposure, kindly contact us by emailing philpawsATyahooDOTcom

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“Wild animals never kill for sport. Man is the only one to whom the torture and death of his fellow creatures is amusing in itself.”

—James A. Froude, British historian (1818 - 1894)

My heart breaks to hear that dogfighting thrives in some areas in the Philippines. Did you know that the trainers use found animals for dog training. Live kill. That kitten or dog you see wandering in the street could be caught and used as training aids. In some cases, even owned animals are stolen for this purpose.

Cynically you could say, what do you expect when you hear of (or worse see) dogs being killed for food, but this is not hunger food ok, this is pulutan…food for eating while drinking.

Still, I was very surprised to learn that dogfighting was big betting business, with international participants. Last week the CIDG raided a dogfighting place, with the assistance of PAWS, the Philippine Animal Welfare Society.

I don’t mean to freak you out so I’ll do the following photos as thumbnails you can click on. These photos are upsetting, but dogfighting is very real, and owners spend a lot of money buying and training them. My sister once saw a feature on dogfighting on TV and the image of a dog with his head nearly severed kept her crying for days.

One of the suspects apprehended in the dogfight - Timothy (shown in photo), a Thai national. Timothy stays close to his injured black pitbull - in an arena raided during an actual dogfight. Video footage seized by the CIDG-SOU showed that some participants in the dogfight were from other countries.

The Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) sought the help of CIDG-SOU after receiving an anonymous tip from a dog fight participant.
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“Buddy” (dog shown in photos) was one of two pitbulls confiscated from a dogfight raided by CIDG-Special Operations Unit with volunteers from the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) last night at Boso-Boso, Antipolo City. 14 suspects arrested will face charges of violation of the Animal Welfare Act or RA 8485 and PD 1602 Illegal Gambling.

You can read about the raid here.

Now here is the thing, you know how things work in the Philippines right? Money talks (and walks) and now lives are, unfortunately, threatened (watch a TV clip on it here).

The officers of PAWS have been receiving death threats — and these are threats with teeth so to speak. The people behind the dogfights have a lot of money and they’ve spent tens of thousands (hundreds of thousands some of them) on their fighting dogs, and they make a lot of money on the bets, and it isn’t unthinkable that they will do a lot to get the dogs back and keep dogfighting around.

I can’t stop thinking about this and how the people from PAWS have risked (yes this is what they did, no drama) their lives and wellbeing by putting the raid in motion. I only hope that we help them by keeping interest in this alive, by passing this on, by reporting incidents or potential incidents like this one, and by supporting animal welfare groups like PAWS.

Pass this on and crosspost if you want, especially to media or other persons who can help.

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