Filipino Christians Sacrifice Dogs

Some Filipinos love dogs and some Filipinos eat dogs. We see this contradiction once more played out in the following two news stories. 

First up is a group of dogs who were rescued from a house fire. 

https://mb.com.ph/2024/9/6/dogs-rescued-from-house-fire-in-san-juan

Several dogs were rescued from a fire that hit a house in Barangay Sta. Lucia, San Juan City Friday morning, September 6.

According to the San Juan Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office (DRRMO), the blaze started at around 7:48 a.m. and was declared fire out at 8:57 a.m.

The Animal Kingdom Foundation (AKF) said several dogs were rescued from the fire. However, four of them perished due to oxygen deprivation and smoke inhalation.

"Many of the dogs were already unconscious because of smoke inhalation but thank you to our dear volunteer firefighters for reviving them. All of the dogs survived except for four," the group said.

The AKF expressed its gratitude to the firefighters who responded to the incident, especially to Fire Chief Jerwin Guan and his wife, for making sure the animals were safe. The couple are both veterinarians.

Arson investigators are still determining the cause of the fire and total cost of damage to property.

Yes, some of the dogs were suffering from smoke inhalation and were revived by...mouth to mouth resuscitation? It seems that way. 

This fireman has his hands cupped around the dogs mouth as if he is blowing into it while the other firefighter has an oxygen mask ready. The dogs could have been left to die but they were not. Only four ended up dying.

The second story involves a group of dogs being caught on video as they were beaten to death. 

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/regions/919610/slaughter-of-dogs-in-la-trinidad-benguet-caught-on-cam/story

A concerned citizen was able to take a video of several men involved in the alleged slaughter of dogs in La Trinidad, Benguet.

According to a report in “Saksi” on Friday, the dogs are being butchered for food or pulutan, which is a snack that is paired with alcoholic drinks. 

In the video, a dog was seen running with a man while on a leash. When it was brought to the slaughter area, the dog became restless and tried but failed to escape.

The said dog was also slaughtered, the report said. 

Also caught in the same video, men hitting an already injured dog. 

The incident was already reported to authorities.

It can be recalled that Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong had ordered last June the inspection of several local eateries that are allegedly serving dog meat dishes to customers.

According to the Animal Welfare Act of 1998, anyone involved in animal cruelty could be imprisoned for up to two years and/or fined P100,000.

In Benguet Province butchered dog is what you pair with your Red Horse. It's not enough to slit the dogs throat or kill the dog in a humane way. No. The dogs must be beaten to death because...the adrenaline rush makes the meat tastier?

Baguio City is also a city in Benguet Province where butchered dog is a local delicacy. In June 2024 the Mayor of Baguio City ordered an inspection into eateries that serve dog meat. 

https://www.gmanetwork.com/news/topstories/regions/909244/magalong-orders-inspection-of-baguio-eateries-over-alleged-serving-of-dog-meat/story/

Baguio City Mayor Benjamin Magalong has ordered the inspection of several local eateries due to the alleged serving of dog meat dishes to customers.

The mayor made the directive after authorities filed charges against a man for violation of the Animal Welfare Act of 1998 after he was caught butchering a dog in Barangay Irisan on May 30.

“We will not tolerate animal cruelty in Baguio City; the police will search and arrest violators of the Animal Welfare Act,” said Magalong in a statement on Thursday.

The charges stemmed from a video uploaded online that showed the suspect hitting the dog until it died.

Biyaya Animal Care earlier said that dog sacrificing is a common practice in the Cordillera region, but butchering a dog for a party is unacceptable.

Magalong recently said that the dog meat trade in the city has decreased significantly.

According to the law, anyone involved in animal cruelty could be imprisoned for up to two years and/or fined P100,000.

Wow! Sacrificing a dog is ok but butchering a dog for a party is not. It's the Igorots who sacrifice dogs as a cleansing ritual. 

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1052457

In the mountains of Cordillera, up in northern Philippines, the indigenous tribes of Igorots still practice the "Daw-es," an ancient ritual passed on from generation to generation, even in this age of the worldwide web.

Many of today's Igorots are also Christians. But unlike the rest of Christendom, they practice the Daw-es, not only in this season of all hallows and souls, but whenever someone died unexpectedly, or was murdered, or met an accident, especially in a massive scale like the Itogon landslide and just recently, the crumbling of the multi-story building that was still being constructed, ironically, for the country's state builders in Natonin town in Mountain Province.

About a week before Typhoon Rosita battered the Cordillera and sent the mountains' soil rolling down and engulfed some parts of the region with mud and rainwater on Tuesday afternoon of Oct. 30, the Daw-es ritual was done in Itogon town in Benguet.

The ritual was for another massive landslide induced by another typhoon (Ompong) that claimed the lives of at least 80 people, mostly small-scale miners and laborers in the mining town about a month and a half ago.

“It’s all about prayers to ask ‘Kabunyan’ (God) to cleanse the place of evil spirit, clear the people’s mind of the images of death and to thank God for the gift of life for those who were spared,” said Father Francisco Dao-ey, a native of Mountain Province, a retired priest of the Anglican church and who also facilitates the conduct of cultural practices like the Daw-es.

The ritual in Itogon was organized by the local government of Itogon town and the Department of the Interior and Local Government. It was done at Sitio Keystone, Ucab, where recovered bodies in the mid-September landslide were being identified by forensic experts.

The Daw-es is practiced by the Igorots in all parts of the Cordillera, with some variations, depending on the place. The primary purpose of the ritual is to "cleanse" the mind of the survivors, especially the rescuers, in case of massive death like in landslides or deluge.  

It is also done to rid a place of evil spirits that cause tragedies for those living.

Daw-es involves the butchering of a dog as offering to "Kabunyan," primarily to remove the images of death in the minds of those still living and to dispel evil spirits.

Pigs or chickens are also butchered and prayed over for everyone around to partake. This serves as the thanksgiving for the survivors' gift of life.

The “mambunong” (native priest), who facilitates the ritual, asks for Kabunyan’s guidance to free the minds of those "who handle the dead” of evil spirits, so they won't be hounded. It is also to pray for guidance to prevent the same disaster from happening in town.

Dao-ey said the cleansing ritual is done in various occasions and in different situations.

“It is done when somebody dies due to an extraordinary cause, when someone kills somebody, when a person is hospitalized, or after an incarceration of a person due to whatever reasons. It is a ritual that cleanses the mind of persons who handled dead bodies from seeing images of death, from having the same unfortunate incident, and to thank 'Kabunyan' for the gift of life for those spared,” he explained.

As for the Itogon tragedy, Dao-ey said he was asked by some Igorot firemen, who were directly involved in the search, rescue, and retrieval of bodies from the landslide area, as they were hounded by creepy thoughts.

“They kept on thinking and could not rid their minds of the images of the dead people,” he said.

Dao-ey said two chickens, aside from the pigs, were also served to the firemen.

“The ritual was done to rid their minds of the fear of the evil, fear of death,” he said.

The native priest said the Daw-es is usually done in groups, as a reminder that they are united in believing in such ritual as a cultural tradition.

The animal used in doing the cleansing ritual is a dog.

Michael “Pacsay” Tauli, a believer of the ritual, said the nature of the dog as a guardian is the primary reason for its use in the "cleansing" ritual.

“The dog’s bark shoos away the bad spirit. It bites, and it is a guardian. That is why it is used in the ritual,” he said.

Tauli believes that dogs are both guardians and harbingers of death. They are portrayed as such in different cultures, places, and era, he said.

Interesting that the Igorots are mostly Christian but practice dog sacrifice to ward off evil spirits and as an offering to God to remove trauma from the mind. There is NOTHING Christian about that whatsoever. But then again that's the contradiction of the Philippines.

Some Filipinos love dogs, some Filipinos eat dogs. Some Filipino Christians place their faith in the once for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross, some Filipino Christians place their faith in the often sacrificed dog to ward off evil sprits.