SSC’s animal welfare project faces impact concerns amid MSU-GSC’s lack of animal protection initiatives

With the aim of supporting the well-being of animals in the campus and surrounding community, the Supreme Student Council (SSC) presented its project ‘Mainstreaming Animal Welfare Act Seminar’ during its 1st General Assembly, at the University Gymnasium, August 19.

However, the project immediately drew concerns on its relevance to peace and development, the committee under which it was proposed. 

© Katrina Elises

College of Social Sciences and Humanities (CSSH) constituent, Ahron James Apsay, raised a concern on the project’s direct impact on its objective and weak linkage to the concern of peace and security of the Committee of Peace and Development.

“The proponent is handling the Committee on Peace and Development, which I believe, Madam Chair, [the nature of the project] does not fall squarely within the mandate of the committee,” Apsay said.

According to him, the project also “failed to answer how will the committee or the project itself address the concerns when it comes to stray dogs and other animals here in our campus.”

In defense, SSC President Ramzel Delloro explained that since the SSC has no environment committee, environment-related advocacies fall squarely under Peace and Development.

“Since peace is an encompassing concept in terms of trying to touch [on] many other issues of environment, like gender and what not, and security also,” Delloro explained.

The project proponent, Jovilly Francisco, further argued that peace should also include human interaction with animals.

“Peace means being able to interact with other organisms even if within people or with animals. Because humanity does not only stand for humans, it can also [mean] being kind to animals,” Francisco stated.

Although Apsay later acknowledged that the project may still fall under the committee, he reiterated the need for a clearer link to addressing stray animals on campus.

In response, Delloro raised a point that the initiative is only at its first stage of implementation, emphasizing gradual progress.

The council is not “dreaming of a paradise where all animals will be safe,” but is instead ‘building up’ its efforts—citing last year’s STRAW Congress as an example, which began on campus and later expanded to the city and eventually to the SOCCSKSARGEN region.

Delloro mentioned that the committee expects fur parents and animal welfare advocates to help re-echo the inputs from the seminar, with the goal of crafting a more comprehensive project in the second semester that caters to wider stakeholders.

Consequently, Apsay suggested that the SSC draft a clear framework that would define responsibilities in managing stray animals whether by the council, college organizations, or the university administration as an additional success indicator for the project’s implementation.

𝗔𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗳𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗶𝗻 𝗠𝗦𝗨-𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗦𝗮𝗻

Beyond the debate, MSU-General Santos City has yet to establish tangible animal welfare efforts, even at the university administrative level, despite the visible number of stray cats and dogs on campus.

Incidents of animal cruelty are occasionally reported on the Facebook page “Buhay MSUan” such as a May 31 post about a man repeatedly throwing rocks at a dog resulting in its death. 

“The dog tried to run away, but gigukod japun sa lalaki, wala giundangan hantud mamatay. This is not only inhumane but unacceptable in any community. Dili jud siya normal and it's very disturbing and heartbreaking,” the anonymous post said.

While there were no official reports that proves the veracity of these cases, MSUans call for higher measures of animal welfare protection in the university.