Senior Inspector Quintin Casabar Jr., Sta. Maria police chief, said his team stopped the van at a checkpoint along the Magilas Road in Barangay (village) Cauplasan at 11 p.m.
“I was surprised to see a bamboo cage when I peeked through the window of the van’s passenger section,” said Casabar by telephone on Thursday.
When he opened the van’s door, he said he saw dogs cramped inside the cage, their snouts tied with nylon strings. Casabar said the cage had 72 dogs, including two animals that may have died during transport.
The van driver, Enrique Panlaque, 60, and his helper, Jose Laogo, 28, both of the City of San Pedro in Laguna, were arrested.
He said Panlaque told investigators that the dogs came from Batangas and were bound for Baguio, where some eateries offer dog meat dishes.
Casabar said the driver took the alternate road to Baguio, which starts in Barangay Carmen in Rosales town and passes through Sta. Maria, Asingan and Binalonan towns, to evade police checkpoints along the national highway.
Casabar said Panlaque was previously arrested in San Carlos City, also for transporting dogs. Gabriel Cardinoza, Inquirer Northern Luzon
