Senator Grace Poe on Friday condemned the killing of a community cat at Ayala Triangle Gardens in Makati City by a Chinese national.
“No animal should be subject to cruel and unwarranted abuse,” she said.
“The cat was merely resting, and since it is a community cat, it means that the people in the area care for it. That community should be a safe haven for cats and dogs,” Poe added.
Poe described the incident as a senseless act of cruelty and called for the swift prosecution of the suspect, citing violations of the Animal Welfare Act.
“A stronger and more responsive Animal Welfare Law in place would have immediately caught the perpetrator and made him answerable to his crime,” she said, urging authorities to ensure that animal protection laws are properly enforced to prevent similar incidents.
Poe said her proposed amendments to the Animal Welfare Act are currently up for a third reading in the Senate.
The bill aims to empower local government units, particularly at the barangay level, to address cases of animal cruelty and neglect, imposing heftier fines to deter potential abusers.
“We are confident that our colleagues and fellow animal welfare advocates in Congress will see through the passage of this bill,” she said.