Parañaque 1st District Rep. Edwin Olivarez has filed a bill which seeks to establish at least one dog station in every shopping mall in urbanized cities.
In House Bill No. 7018 dated February 7 but released on Friday, Olivarez cited that Filipinos particularly those residing in urbanized cities are fond of taking their pets in malls for various of reasons.
“However, because of lack of facilities for their dogs, it is quite inconvenient to bring these animals with them although they badly want to,” he said.
The lawmaker said that it is proper to require shopping mall managements to provide facilities that will "temporarily look after and protect the welfare of domesticated dogs” while pet owners roam around the mall and shop.
"After all, if pet dogs are being considered as man's best friend or even a member of a family, we should allow their owners to have the option to bring their pet dogs with them wherever they go to the malls instead of just leaving them in their homes," he said.
Once the bill is enacted, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) is tapped to coordinate with the local government units (LGUs) and the Department of Health (DOH) for the issuance of the guidelines of the Act.
Olivarez proposed that failure to establish a dog station in a shopping mall shall result in disapproval of the mall's permit.
He said mall managements may collect fees from owners who wish to leave their dogs in the said stations, and it is in their discretion to hire qualified personnel who will look after the domestic pets.
"The bill is reflective of our government's support to pro-animal campaigns and projects. Filipino being natural pet lovers would surely benefit from the approval of this bill. It is for the reason that its approval is hereby being sought," Olivarez remarked.
