Asocena
Asocena is a Filipino dish primarily consisting of dog meat. The term "asocena" was first used in the 1980s and became popular when a film entitled "Azucena", written by Enrique Ramos and directed by Carlitos Siguion-Reyna, was screened in 2000. The dish's name is a compound word, from "aso", the Filipino word for "dog" and Spanish word "cena", which means "dinner" or "an evening meal", the literal translation being "dog-meal" or "a meal of dog meat". It may also be a play on the Spanish name "Azucena", which is also used to describe a variety of  fragrant, white rice. Eating. Asocena is usually consumed as "pulutan" (Tagalog; snacks or food served while drinking alcoholic beverages; loosely translates to "finger food"). Controversy. The killing of dogs as a livestock animal has been banned in the Philippines since 1998 via Republic Act No. 8485, known as the Animal Welfare Act, with exemptions for dogs killed and eaten as part of indigenous rituals. Nevertheless, the consumption of dog meat still continue in some regions in the Philippines, notably in the Cordillera highlands in northern Luzon where it is traditional, as reflected in the occasional coverage in Philippine newspapers. Asocena