SlXTEE.NTH.CONGRESSOF THE REPUBLIC ). 
. , >ilnil~l" 
*£trr or HI" }:"".b'l! 
OF THE PHILH"FlNES 
) 
FirstRegWa£~ 
) 
S.N<h 209 
Animal cruelty is a reptlfsive act against rome oHhe most vuIrrerabkmemOers ()f'SOciety, During the 
past years, publiC interest in animal.rignts has~rled d'ram~Iy. ~ 
eff()!'t'f lly animal 
weIfure advoca1estD prevent animat cruelty have paved tBe Wf£Y fn:r:1he. enaclment nfR.epuhlic Act No, 
84&5 entitled, An Act to Pnmmre Aruma! WclU!re in the Philippines, ~ 
Koown a,> "The 
Animal Welfare Act of i998," The purpose of the said taw is t;) protect and prOOIDte"the welfare of all 
I!Dimalg inthe P~ 
.. 
Consistent with this objective,RA 8485 provides penalties for violation 'Of any provisinns of said law 
including, among ~, 
torture, ~ 
and ~t 
of animals, Howe>w, reports reveal a high 
incidence of cruelty to animals, the most recent·of whleh wasthe.,tescneofmmetilan JOOdogs -from aft 
oo1fue dog-fighting mcket mil by 'Somh Koreans in a raid conducted in ()damm and San Pablo City in 
Laguna. Most ·of the dogs were pitblltl mixed breeds. Sevet1!l dogs were found to be extremely 
malnourished and badly inju.rOO.. 
Under RA8485, violators of any proviSinns of said Ia;v,- shall lie pnnished. by imprisomnentranging 
from ~x (6) months to tvro(2) years or a fine rangb"'lg from One t,'tou8and pesos (Pl.OOO,OO) to Five 
thousand pesos (p5,OOo.OO) or both at·thediseretion,of,theoourt In view ofthe.rampant proliferation 
of cruelty 1(} animals., it only shows that the penalties imposed under the present law afe oot eoough 10 
deter the cormnission 'Of prohibited acll!: 
This hilt seeks to put more teeth to RA 8485 by imposiug.stiffer pc •. . to viif.ators espeeiany those 
who 'shall'subject any dog or horse 'Iodogfigiltsbr:hotsefigbtS, in . ~. 
ClL«e;, viliIarors shall not benefit 
fromPresidentia1 DeCfee No.%S orfue Proh-atioo Law. 
G 


SIXTEENTH CONGRESS OF THE REPUBLIC) 
. .srI1111£ 
.... 
19ft,:. 01.1110>,,"';1"11::' . 
OF THE PHILIPPINES 
) 
First Regular Session 
) 
'13 
JlIL -1 
P4 :43 
SENATE 
S. No. 209 
Introduced by Senator GREGORIO B. HONASAN II 
AN ACT 
AMENDING SECTION 8 OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8485 ENTITLED, AN ACT 
TO PROMOTE THE ANIMAL WELFARE IN THE PHILIPPINES OTHERWISE 
KNOWN AS THE "ANIMAL WELFARE ACT OF 1998". 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines 
in Congress assembled: 
S~CTlON 1. Section 8 of Republic Act No. 8485 entitled, An Act to 
Promote i Animal Welfare in the Philippines Otherwise Knowr.l as the "Animal 
Welfare Act of 1998" is hereby amended to read as follows: 
"Sec. 8. Any person who violates any provisions of this Act shall, upon 
conviction by final judgment, be punished by imprisonment of not less 
than FOUR YEARS [six (6) months] nor more than SIX (6) [two (2)] 
years or a fine of THIRTY THOUSAND PESOS (P30,OOO.OO) [not less 
than One thousand pesos (P1,OOO.OO) nor more than Five thousand pesos 
(P5,OOO.OO)] or both at the discretion of the Court. PROVIDED, THAT 
ANY PERSON WHO SHALL SUBJECT ANY DOG OR HORSE TO 
DOGFIGHTS OR HORSE FIGHTS AS PROVIDED IN SECTION 6 
HEREOF SHALL BE PUNISHED BY IMPRISONMENT OF SIX (6) 
YEARS AND ONE (1) DAY TO EIGHT (8) YEARS OR A FINE OF 
FIFTY THOUSAND PESOS (PSO,OOO.OO) OR BOTH AT THE 
DISCRETION OF THE COURT. 
If the violation is committed by a 
juridical person, the officer responsible therefor shall serve the 
imprisonment when imposed. If the violation is committed by an alien, he 
or she shall be immediately deported after service of sentence without 
any further proceedings." 


Sec. 2. 
Repealing Clause. -
All laws, executive orders, rules and 
regulations inconsistent with or contrary to this Act, are hereby repealed or 
amended accordingly. 
Sec. 3. Effectivity Clause. - This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days 
after its publication in at least two (2) newspapers of general circulation. 
I 
Approved, 
2