Beyond the Bite: Iloilo’s Costly War on Rabies

Two hundred. That is the number of people, on average, bitten by an animal in Iloilo province every single day. The Capitol’s recent announcement of 35,522 bite cases in just six months is not merely a statistic; it is a daily silent crisis unfolding in our homes and communities.

While the provincial government’s renewed commitment to achieving a rabies-free status by 2030 is commendable, we must look beyond the official pronouncements and confront the true, staggering cost of inaction.

For every family that rushes a loved one to a treatment center, the ordeal is a profound economic and emotional shock. The government allocates millions for vaccines, but this doesn’t cover the whole story. A full course of private post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP) can run into thousands of pesos. Add to that the lost wages from taking time off work, transportation costs to often-distant district hospitals, and the sheer psychological terror of facing a disease that is nearly 100% fatal once symptoms appear. This is the hidden tax of rabies—a P10,000-peso bite that drains household finances and peace of mind.

The irony is that this entire ordeal is almost entirely preventable. An anti-rabies vaccine for a dog costs as little as P200. The financial case for prevention is undeniable. The moral case is just as strong. Every peso spent on prevention saves thousands in treatment and protects our families from trauma. Viewing rabies control through an economic lens reveals a simple truth: prevention is the soundest financial strategy the province can adopt.

We don’t need to look far for a solution. The blueprint for success already exists within our borders. The 24 island barangays in northern Iloilo—in Concepcion, Carles, Ajuy, and San Dionisio—have been declared rabies-free. They are living proof that this goal is not a distant dream. Their success wasn’t built on mere appeals but likely on a combination of intensive, door-to-door vaccination campaigns reaching critical mass, strict dog registration, and relentless community education. These islands provide a replicable model that must be rigorously studied and implemented across the mainland.

The “whole-of-province approach” cannot remain a hopeful slogan. It must become a mandate. The 2030 target is achievable, but only if we shift our perspective. We must see every unvaccinated dog not as a pet, but as a potential P10,000 liability and a tragedy in waiting. Let us embrace the island blueprint, enforce responsible ownership, and finally treat this preventable disease with the economic and human urgency it demands.