A proposed overhaul of the country’s animal welfare system would impose new penalties for cruelty, strengthen government accountability for animal pounds and create an independent national commission to enforce protections for animals.
House Bill 11495, or the proposed Animal Life Advocacy and Guardianship Act (ALAGA Act), seeks to amend Republic Act No. 8485, the Animal Welfare Act of 1998, as amended by Republic Act No. 10631.
The measure was authored by Akbayan Party-list lawmakers Percival Cendaña, Jose Manuel Diokno, Dadah Kiram Ismula and Dinagat Islands Rep. Kaka Bag-Ao.
The House legislative database records HB 11495 as having been filed on May 6, 2026, read on May 12 and referred to the House Committee on Ecology on May 20, where it remains pending. The measure was publicly presented with the Philippine Animal Welfare Society and animal-welfare advocates at the House on Sept. 29.
Under the proposal, cruelty, maltreatment or neglect resulting in an animal’s death would carry imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of up to P200,000. Grave injury would carry up to 18 months in prison and a fine of up to P80,000, while lesser harm would carry up to one year in prison and a fine of up to P30,000.
Aggravated cases would be subject to the maximum applicable penalty.
The proposal also changes the way penalties are imposed. PAWS said the measure would require both imprisonment and a fine for convicted animal offenders, rather than leaving them as alternative sanctions.
The proposed penalties come against a current law that was already strengthened in 2013.
Under RA 10631, cruelty resulting in an animal’s death is currently punishable by one year, six months and one day to two years in prison and/or a fine of up to P100,000. Severe injury carries one year and one day to one year and six months and/or a fine of up to P50,000, while other cruelty carries six months to one year and/or a fine of up to P30,000.
The law also provides a higher penalty of two years and one day to three years and/or a fine of up to P250,000 when the offense is committed by a syndicate, by someone who makes a business out of animal cruelty, by a public officer or employee, or when at least three animals are involved.
Beyond penalties, the ALAGA Act proposes a major restructuring of how animal welfare cases are handled.
It would replace the existing Committee on Animal Welfare with a National Commission on Animal Welfare, envisioned as an independent and autonomous quasi-judicial body with fiscal autonomy, rule-making, licensing, enforcement and adjudication powers.
The commission would serve as the national authority on animal welfare and would oversee enforcement, animal facilities, pounds and shelters while facilitating the prosecution of cruelty cases.
PAWS Executive Director Anna Cabrera told GMA News that the existing framework lacks a dedicated commission with the administrative and financial capacity to implement animal-welfare protections nationwide.
The bill would also give local governments new responsibilities in managing stray animals.
Local governments would be required to designate personnel under their local veterinary offices and deploy trained and properly equipped staff. Trap-Neuter-Vaccinate-Return, or TNVR, would be promoted as the primary humane method for managing stray-animal populations.
The approach is consistent with international animal-population-management guidance, which recognizes sterilization and vaccination programs as tools for managing free-roaming dog populations while cautioning that such programs must be adapted to local conditions.
Animal pounds would face additional transparency requirements.
The proposed measure would require publicly accessible records covering impounded animals and their disposition, including adoptions, euthanasia, deaths and disease outbreaks. Pounds would also be required to meet minimum operating hours and perform spay or neuter procedures before releasing animals, according to reports on the measure.
The bill would additionally protect people who rescue neglected animals in good faith by recognizing circumstances under which rescuers could enter premises to save animals without incurring criminal liability.
Education and research are also covered.
Animal experimentation would be prohibited in elementary schools, while secondary schools and higher-education institutions would be required to observe internationally recognized standards for animal care and preservation.
Those standards include the 3Rs principle; Replacement, Reduction and Refinement. The framework calls for replacing animals with alternatives where possible, reducing the number of animals used when research remains necessary, and refining procedures to minimize pain, suffering and distress.
The proposal would also expressly prohibit dog-meat trading, animal fighting, poisoning and the production, distribution or exhibition of content depicting the intentional infliction of pain, suffering or death on animals for entertainment or commercial gain.
Some of those practices are already addressed by existing laws. The Department of Agriculture has noted that the Anti-Rabies Act of 2007 prohibits the trade of dogs for meat, while meat-inspection legislation also prohibits the sale, transfer and distribution of dog meat for human consumption. The proposed legislation would incorporate such prohibitions into a broader animal-welfare enforcement framework.
The existing Animal Welfare Act remains in force while HB 11495 is pending.
For now, the proposed commission, new enforcement structure and revised penalties remain subject to the legislative process. The House measure is still before the Committee on Ecology and has not become law.
