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LEADERS of the Mandaue City Council have expressed that they, too, are in favor of the creation of a dog-racing facility in the city?s premises, citing its potential for boosting tourism.
Vice Mayor Carlo Fortuna, presiding officer of the City Council, said he has seen the development plan of the facility as shown to him by the Quisumbing family, who plan to invest in such a facility.
?Its a substantial investment that they are putting in. No doubt about it. It's intended to bring in mainly foreign players... for sports tourism,? Fortuna said.
In earlier interviews, Mayor Jonas Cortes also expressed interest in a dog-racing facility for Mandaue. He said this was in line with his administration?s aim to promote tourism.
The Quisumbing family, according to Cortes and Fortuna, will invest in the dog-racing facility.
The family is known for owning the Mandaue-based Norkis Group of Companies, famous for the multicab line automobiles.
Fortuna said dog-racing is a better alternative to cockfighting because there is no bloodshed involved.
?These are better forms of gambling,? he said.
City Council majority leader Victor Biaño also said in a text message that he too favors a dog-racing facility.
?It will surely generate patronage by tourists and will put Mandaue in the entertainment map (of the world),? Biaño said.
Rep. Nerissa Soon-Ruiz (Cebu, 6th district) is among the authors of House Bill 5921, which grants the Fox New Millenium Amusement Club Inc., a franchise to construct, operate, and maintain a greyhound racetrack in Mandaue City. Other authors of the bill include The other authors of the HB 5921 are Cebu 4th district Rep. Benhur Salimbangon as its primary author and Iloilo 4th district Rep. Ferjenel Biron as co-author.
However the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) criticize the proliferation of dog racing, saying this would encourage the practice of breeding hundreds of greyhound race dogs.
PAWS prgoram director Anna Hashim-Cabrera said only a few breeded dogs would qualify for racing, the rest would be euthanized, as exemplified in countries were dog racing is rampant.
Fortuna said the city would find a way to avoid having to kill dogs.
He suggested training overbred dogs, such deploying them as watchdogs or police dogs.
?They can be trained because they (greyhounds breed) are runners and hunters,? Fortuna said.
