DAVAO CITY – Koronadal City’s veterinary office will launch a microchip implant project designed to store pet data for monitoring anti-rabies campaigns. This technology-driven initiative aims to improve pet ownership practices, reduce stray dog populations, and mitigate the risk of rabies transmission in the city.
The microchip implant, roughly the size of a rice grain, will be subcutaneously inserted into dogs.
Using radio-frequency identification (RFID) technology, it will store essential information, including the dog’s name, owner’s details, breed, age, owner’s address, vaccination records, and other relevant data in compliance with the Anti-Rabies Act of 2007, which mandates dog registration.
Dr. Charlemagne Calo, the head of the City Veterinary Office, stated that this innovative system will be officially launched in early October, making Koronadal a pioneer among local governments in the Soccsksargen region.
Each chip will cost about P400. The city government is currently for funding. to support the initiative. Dr. Calo clarified that the microchip is not a tracking device and cannot be used to locate missing pets. Instead, it serves as a deterrent to pet theft and aids in tracing dog ownership.
He emphasized that this initiative will push dog owners to ensure their pets are protected against rabies, reducing the risk of infections.
Calo said domestic dogs are responsible for 99% of reported rabies transmissions to humans. Vaccinating dogs is one of the most cost-effective strategy to prevent infections.
Meanwhile, the LGU has actively vaccinated over 12,353 pet dogs in the city from January to September.
Considering the city’s estimated dog population of around 20,000, the microchip implant scheme will be gradually implemented in Koronadal City’s 27 barangays. Rabies infections and animal bites have been persistent issues in Koronadal City and neighboring towns in South Cotabato, with eight reported rabies-related deaths since 2021.
South Cotabato previously held the record for the highest number of confirmed rabies deaths in the Philippines in 2017, with 18 cases, followed by nine cases in 2018, eight in 2019, and six in 2020, all attributed to bites from unvaccinated dogs. In 2021 alone, over 12,500 cases of animal bites were documented.
John Arlo Codilla, the rabies program coordinator at the Integrated Provincial Health Office (IPHO), explained that many people resort to traditional remedies like “tandok” due to the perceived unavailability and high cost of conventional anti-rabies medical treatments.
Tricycle driver Juanito Tol shared that he once took his nephew to a tandok practitioner because they couldn’t afford costly hospital treatment. “Anti-rabies injections are hard to find and very expensive,” he said.
Tandok is performed by faith healers who use an animal horn to supposedly draw out rabies from a bite wound. Sadly, many individuals who undergo tandok procedures do not survive, according to Codilla.
The World Health Organization (WHO) reports that rabies causes nearly 60,000 human deaths worldwide each year.
