A friend asked me recently if I could think of one sentence that can encapsulate the essence of 2025. In a year defined by rage bait and performative outrage, I started thinking about a line uttered by a stressed government official in the middle of disaster response: “ang hayop napapalitan.”
Of course the remark was careless and wrong.
But while that one line summed up everything ugly and problematic about how our society still regards animals, the backlash and public discourse it inspired underscored something inalienable about us as a people: we speak up when we are moved. And our collective voices can rise above the din.
The fight for animal welfare has always felt like pushing a boulder up a hill. But 2025 felt different somehow. Compared to previous years, it offered more pathways and platforms. And something else too. Something that looks a lot like hope.
2025 didn’t give us many victories for the animals. But it did offer something important: movement.
Time, at least, works in the animals’ favor. With each passing year, awareness grows. Old assumptions fray. Ways of thinking that were once readily accepted now meet resistance.
Animals are still suffering–there’s no doubt about that. But social media has made their suffering harder to ignore. And in 2025, more people are paying attention than ever before. More importantly, more people are speaking up.
This matters, because throughout history, the impetus of societal change has been critical mass. When enough people begin to agree that things should be different.
This year, more voices spoke about compassion toward animals. More people, it seemed, consider empathy as an important skill that is learned, practiced, and passed on. And while this may not yet look like victory, it looks unmistakably like momentum.
The following are Pawsture’s 12 significant things that happened to animals this year.
1. The Senate Approved the Revised Animal Welfare Act
In June, the Senate unanimously approved the proposed Revised Animal Welfare Act on third reading. A month later, a counterpart bill was filed in the House, addressing concerns raised by animal welfare groups. The law has yet to pass, but in 2025, it remained alive and moving forward.
2. Animal Welfare Received Its First Dedicated National Budget Line
In December, ₱10 million was allocated in the proposed 2026 national budget for the Animal Welfare Supervision and Accreditation Program. It marked the first time the program received a dedicated funding line, with its real impact hinging on implementation.
3. Courts Secured Rare Convictions in Cruelty Cases
Convictions under the Animal Welfare Act were secured in several high-profile cruelty cases in 2025. A security guard, Reynaldo Panao, was convicted for shooting and killing a dog named Janjan. A former homeowners’ association president, Jaime Enriquez, and maintenance staff were charged for the inhumane treatment and illegal relocation of community cats. In Iloilo, Giles Rapista was charged for stabbing a dog named Oreo to death. Courts also found John Parungao guilty of shooting a dog named Poly in the head, and convicted barangay tanod Ronald Restorque for the deaths of impounded dogs in Barangay Kaingen in Kawit, Cavite. Taken together, these rulings make it clear that when cruelty is documented, the law can be compelled to work for animals.
4. Typhoons Uwan and Tino Exposed Gaps in Animal Disaster Preparedness
Typhoon Uwan and Typhoon Tino, which entered the country in November, battered parts of the country. Livestock, wildlife, and companion animals were among the casualties. The loss of many lives highlights how animals remain largely excluded from disaster preparedness and response planning. Rescue groups and volunteers stepped in where systems fell short, showing once again that animals often survive disasters only through informal, citizen-led efforts.
5. A Mayor’s Remark Sparked National Backlash
During the onslaught of Typhoon Uwan, a moment meant to rally people to safety instead exposed how casually animals are erased from our moral priorities. In a Facebook Live urging residents to evacuate, the mayor of Tuguegarao City reassured viewers that belongings could be replaced and then added that animals could be replaced too. The backlash was swift and unforgiving. The issue became a reminder that every disaster tests the breadth of our humanity.
6. The Cebu Earthquake Hit Animals on a Massive Scale
The September 30 magnitude-6.9 earthquake in Cebu caused widespread damage that extended well beyond human communities. Hundreds of thousands of animals were affected as livestock and poultry operations were disrupted, shelters collapsed, and access to food and veterinary care was cut off. In the hardest-hit areas, animal welfare groups and veterinarians stepped in where systems were overwhelmed, providing relief and basic care amid the broader emergency.
7. A Hero Dog Named Luke Captured Public Attention
One of the most shared stories of the Cebu earthquake was that of Luke, a four-year-old aspin who shielded his family from falling debris. His story reframed animals not just as victims, but as protectors.
8. Woman in Cebu Rescues Her Dogs From Burning Building
In December, a video of Ei Mei Lee Maningo rescuing her two dogs from a burning building went viral. Trapped on the third floor of a blaze in Barangay Guizo in Mandaue City, Cebu, Maningo calmly lifted each of her dogs and dropped them one by one into the waiting arms of firefighters and bystanders below, then escaped with only minor injury as smoke and flames closed in around her. Her act of courage drew widespread praise online and formal commendation from the Mandaue City Council.
9. NGOs and Animal Welfare Advocates Continued to Fill Systemic Gaps
Throughout the year, rescue groups, NGOs, and volunteer networks responded to disasters, cruelty cases, and abandonment. Their work saved lives while exposing how much animal protection still depends on unpaid labor and donations.
10. TNVR and Free Kapon Efforts Expanded
More groups expanded low-cost and free TNVR and spay-neuter initiatives. One standout effort, “Come on, Kapon!” by Biyaya Animal Care, sterilized over 1,036 animals in a single day at Luneta—one of the largest outreach efforts of its kind in the country.
11. A Government Breeding Project Failed Animals
The Commission on Audit revealed that more than half of the goats procured for a government breeding project died due to inadequate feeding and oversight, raising broader concerns about animal welfare within state-run agricultural programs.
12. Global Policies Shifted Toward Reducing Harm
In 2025, a series of global developments showed a shift in how societies confront animal suffering.
In the United States, more than two dozen cities and states banned the retail sale of dogs, cats, and other animals, cutting off a key pipeline that allowed puppy mills and large-scale breeders to thrive. The country’s long, uneven transition to cage-free eggs also continued, easing one of the most extreme forms of confinement in industrial farming.
Elsewhere, in-ovo sexing technology expanded across Europe, Asia, and North America, reducing the routine killing of male chicks by determining sex before hatching. Multiple countries renewed commitments to reduce or replace animal testing where non-animal alternatives already exist. Switzerland moved to require meat producers to disclose certain abusive practices directly on packaging, allowing consumers to see them. And in Europe, Poland’s ban on fur farming marked another crack in the global fur industry.
In Summary
2025 was the year animal welfare became a firmer presence in courtrooms, committee hearings, disaster briefings, and budget lines. It brought legislative momentum, convictions under the Animal Welfare Act, stronger public expectations, and globally, a growing insistence that cruelty should no longer be hidden or normalized.
The work is far from finished, and the Philippines still has a long way to go when it comes to animal welfare. But 2025 also showed us that there is hope for a better, kinder future. What happens next will depend on whether we translate our collective compassion into action in 2026 and beyond.
