Philippine Senator Ana Theresia N. Hontiveros-Baraquel has urged the Senate to investigate the regulation of pet cremation and burial services after the remains of cats and dogs entrusted to a private crematorium were found dumped in Bulacan.

In Senate Resolution No. 762, filed on Monday, the senator noted that the Animal Welfare Act of 1998 offers no remedy in the case, as the animals were already dead when they were entrusted to the care of Ahjay Paws Aftercare Pet Crematorium. That gap sits at the center of her call for a probe: owners who paid for the care of deceased pets are left without recourse under the 1998 law, placing the question of how aftercare businesses are regulated squarely before the Senate.

At least 25 plastic bags containing animal remains were discovered in an empty lot in San Jose del Monte, Bulacan, in late October, traced to the crematorium, which charges fees of P3,000 to P10,000 — amounts owners paid for the handling of remains that were instead found discarded in a lot.

The dumping of the 25 animals was not an isolated incident, the senator said, noting that 14 dead dogs were found in the same lot earlier this year, with at least one owner confirming their animal had been entrusted to Ahjay Paws. More remains were also recovered from an abandoned pit in the same barangay on Nov. 3.

The Philippine Animal Welfare Society has offered free legal assistance to owners who identified the dumped animals as their own, and has gathered 191 affidavits and other submissions against the service provider — a volume of documentation reflecting the number of owners who have come forward.

The Environmental Crimes Division of the National Bureau of Investigation and the Philippine National Police have opened separate investigations into the incident, with possible charges covering violations of sanitation, ecological waste, consumer, and estafa (swindling) rules. With the Animal Welfare Act unavailable as an avenue in this case, any accountability would have to run through those other frameworks — and how the investigations proceed, together with the Senate's action on Resolution No. 762, is what to watch as the question of overseeing pet aftercare services moves into the legislative arena.

— Francessca S. Abalos, BusinessWorld