House oks bill setting up RP anti-rabies program

The House of Representatives has ratified a bill calling for anti-rabies campaign nationwide, according to Cebu Third District Rep. Antonio Yapha Jr.

Yapha, chairman of the House Committee on Health, said House Bill 4654 will institutionalize a national anti-rabies prevention and control program to be called the Nationwide Rabies Vaccination Program.

The Departments of Agriculture, Health, Local Government, and Education, local governments and non-government organizations will carry out this program.

HB 4654 mandates the regular immunization and registration of dogs, which the bill authors' see as a way of reducing, if not eradicating, incidents of rabies infection.

It seeks to ensure a safer environment for pet and pet owners alike by controlling and eradicating rabies through vaccination services for domesticated and stray canines and felines.

Dog impounding activities shall be strictly enforced also to eliminate stray dogs and to make sure that all dogs are leashed or confined within the premises of the owner's house or fenced surrounding.

The bill provides further for funds to implement the program, particularly on acquisition of supplies and vaccines needed for immunization.

Yapha said the program should be a multi-agency effort to control and eliminate rabies, a fatal disease without effective cure yet.

Rabies is ranked 12th among the killer diseases worldwide, afflicting around 10 million people every year.

The Research Institute for Tropical Medicine reported that about 400,000 people consult for rabies annually.

It also stated that the incidents of rabies in the Philippines posted at six to eight per million population, a ratio that is one of the highest worldwide. - Garry B. Lao