Rogelio Agusto with his dog Lotlot.
CDN phot/Dominic D. Yasay
A criminal complaint was filed against a senior citizen for violating the Animal Welfare Act after allegedly beating his pet dog with a steel pipe in his home in Sitio Tambis, Barangay Ibabao, Mandaue City.
Complainants Zenas Laude, Jackelu Guinto and a representative of nongovernment organization Mayari Animal Rescue Organization (Maro) filed a complaint against Rogelio Agusto for “maltreatment and brutally hitting” his dog named Lotlot without any apparent reason last December 16, 2016 at around 6 p.m.
In a written affidavit dated January 13, the complainants narrated how Agusto allegedly hit the helpless dog violently.
“I (Laude) was about to clean our dog house which is located infront of our house, I saw Lotlot lying along an alley right in front of our gate. Moments later, I saw Rogelio Agusto coming out of their house with a metal pipe in his hands. Upon seeing Lotlot, and with no apparent reason at all, Rogelio Agusto violently hit Lotlot using the metal pipe, hitting the dog in the left side part of his body,” part of the affidavit read.
The testimony further stated that Agusto repeatedly hit the dog despite the presence of their neighbors. The beating left Lotlot’s left limb injured and inflicted in him several wounds based on the dog’s medical certificate issued by the Central Point Veterinary Clinic in Barangay Tipolo, Mandaue City.
“(This) is an act of cruelty and brutality against a helpless animal and the same act should not be left unpunished. Thus, to set as an example to others, we are filing the instant complaint against Rogelio Agusto for violation of R.A. 8485 as amended by R.A. 10631, otherwise known as The Animal Welfare Law as Amended,” the statement read.
Section 6 of the Animal Welfare Law as amended prohibits any person from neglecting or torturing any kind of animals. Depending on the gravity of the violation, any person convicted for such crime may be punished by imprisonment for six months to a year and may be required to pay a fine of P30,000 to P100,000.
Agusto denied the accusations against him, maintaining that it was only a demolition job from the part of Guinto and her mother Laude to get back at him.
The 62-year-old Agusto, a corporate asset officer of a motorcycle dealership in Mandaue, said his family and Laude have an unresolved conflict which led the latter to make up stories to stain his reputation.
Agusto clarified that Lotlot got her wounds and injuries after engaging in a violent rumble with their other dog. To further disprove the complainants’ allegations, he said he was at work when the incident happened and his office’s biometrics system could back it up.
“Before sila mo-judge, mo-background check unta sila. One-sided ra kaayo sila (Before they judge, they must conduct a background check. They are too one-sided),” Agusto told Maro, which backed up the complaint lodged by Laude and Guinto.
He added that Lotlot got most of her wounds from the tin roofs made as fences at the back of their house where the rumble occurred.
Agusto’s neighbor Ben Piape, 59, told reporters that he had witnessed the dogs’ fight.
“Nag-binugnuay na ang mga iro (The dogs went into a rumble). Ang mga samad ana niya (Lotlot) kay gikan sa sin (Lotlot got her wounds from the tin roofs),” Piape said.
A month after the alleged heavy beating, the dog Lotlot is alive and well under the care of the Agustos.
“Kung napuspusan pa ni siya, di unta ni siya makabarog karon (If Lotlot had been beaten with a steel pipe, she would not have been able to stand up right now),” Agusto said.