A five-year old Muslim boy has died after being badly hurt from an attack on Monday by 10 stray dogs in Isabela City.
The photo of the badly injured child quickly went viral on social media and was first reported by station dxNO in Isabela. About 300 residents of the city have reportedly been bitten by dogs in the recent weeks, blaming local officials for their lack of enforcing Anti-Rabies Act of 2007 that would protect anyone from rabies infection.
“This incident calls our attention to the urgency of the issue,” Mayor-elect Sitti Djalia Turabin-Hataman said, also stating that she heard of the problem during her campaign across barangays prior to the May 13 elections. “This incident strengthened our resolve to implement that law.”
In a 2010 report by Philstar.com, an average of at least one person dies from rabies every month in the province.
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