Rabies deaths are extremely preventable when caught early. Yet, a 37-percent uptick in human fatalities from rabies had been logged this year, flying in the face of an ambitious program intended to defeat the disease as early as 2020.

Quezon City Rep. Marvin Rillo delivered a recent sweeping rebuke of the 15-year-old National Rabies Prevention and Control Program for its supposed spate of misses despite its about P900-million annual funding.

Department of Health figures have shown that 322 Filipinos died due to rabies from 1 January to 5 November 2022, compared to the 235 who succumbed from rabies over the same period in 2021.

The Anti-Rabies Law of 2007 established the NRPCP to control, prevent the spread and eradicate human and animal rabies, on top of promoting responsible pet ownership.

Most human-rabies deaths occur in countries where public health resources are scarce. The vaccine-preventable disease, according to the DoH, is mostly transmitted by unvaccinated dogs.

Rabies is 100 percent fatal when its harrowing symptoms have already manifested themselves: Convulsions, fear of water (hydrophobia), and excessive salivation, which almost always lead to death.

Citing the rise in dog bites, state medical insurer PhilHealth said it paid in 2021 P180 million in Animal Bite Treatment Package claims, which cover the cost of post-exposure prophylaxis services.

There were 57,420 ABTP claims paid in 2021, up 21 percent from the 47,320 claims paid in 2020.

From January to June this year, PhilHealth spent another P92.6 million to pay for 32,598 ABTP claims.

The ABTP primarily covers dog bites, but people bitten by cats, cows, pigs, horses, goats, bats and monkeys may also be covered.