How Death Threats and Troll Attacks Forced the Closure of an Animal Welfare Foundation
The gray-and-white, four-floor PPBCC Veterinary Hospital stands tall at the corner of Boni Avenue and Primo Cruz, making its presence known to commuters in that part of Mandaluyong. Still, it never needed that structure to identify itself. The PPBCC Foundation—short for Philippine Pet Birth Control Center—has been making an impact on animal welfare for its free and/or low-cost spay and neuter medical missions all over the Philippines. Since the Foundation was founded in March 2017, it has neutered almost 200,000 cats and dogs for free, provided free veterinary services to indigent pet owners and rescuers, and trained local and student vets, also for free.
"I have never rejected a dog or cat who needs medical attention kahit walang pambayad 'yung owner," said PPBCC Foundation founder and president Dr. Maricelle "Mace" Licuanan in an interview with Esquire Philippines.
At the end of the phone call, I told Dr. Mace that all my dogs are actually regular patients at PPBCC Veterinary Hospital, with one who previously got a free dental cleaning (with permission, of course) while the dog was under anesthesia for the removal of a cyst. While we had the money for the operation, we didn't have extra cash, so the vet waived the fees just to make sure that our pet is in top shape and to prevent future medical problems. That's the kind of service that PPBCC Veterinary Hospital offers, and more so for its Foundation arm.
"Hindi ko maintindihan kung saan nanggagaling ang galit ng mga tao. At di ko maintindihan what changed in the dog and cat community," Licuanan said.
In the last few days, PPBCC Veterinary Hospital was the target of an online mob attack after a pet owner posted a video of her crying over the lifeless body of her dog, Yhuri, claiming that it was the vet's fault. The reel, posted on May 9 over the account Bestdeals.ph, quickly went viral, acquiring more than 700 shares and more than 2,000 comments. Bestdeals.ph is a Mandaluyong-based online reseller of health and wellness products and fashion accessories. The page was created in July 2019.
Aside from the vitriol on the individual post's comments section as well as PPBCC Veterinary Hospital's Facebook page, others have taken to bringing their hate to Licuanan's profile page and personal mobile number. Finally, on Thursday night, May 15, PPBCC Foundation announced on social media that it was shutting its doors permanently.
"A Difficult Decision: Closing the PPBCC Foundation," the post's title said. "We are announcing that we're closing the PPBCC Foundation due to resurfacing accusations of deaths due to negligence under our care. Each of these cases was addressed, and it was medically explained to each owner that the deaths were triggered by underlying causes and/or owners insisting on neutering their pets against medical advice, with signed waiver forms. Each medical procedure carries risks, no matter how small or large, but this was still taken negatively and twisted to paint us as negligent and heartless."
With surgeries already getting canceled due to the negative post—including a dog's spinal surgery that was supposed to happen on Thursday morning, Licuanan is unsure of how the PPBCC Veterinary Hospital can continue to fund the subsidized neuter rates and free neuter outreach events of the PPBCC Foundation.
"Hindi ko kasi alam how it will affect the business," the vet said. She also deactivated the PPBCC Veterinary Hospital Facebook page (not the PPBCC Veterinary Foundation Facebook page, to clarify) to prevent further trolling. "Sobrang dami ng hate messages na hindi ko kaya matanggap." Without a Facebook page where they would often get clients, Licuanan said, the funding of the Foundation is on shaky ground. "Ayaw ko naman i-put at risk, kung tatanggap pa rin 'yung Foundation tapos hindi ko kayang ma-sustain yung gastos."
The incident is also taking a toll on her mental health, as the online harassment is also affecting her sons, with threats even being made on her family.
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The Case of Yhuri, the Dog, at the PPBCC Veterinary Hospital
The caption on Bestdeals.ph, verbatim, said: "40k dental extraction para lang bumuti at mabuhay pa. Ng matagal. na ligtas cya. 80% chance pero tinulugan ng vet. So incompetent. You denied us to be there, to visit him. Never called us to give update. And she even have a gut to make story. Di kayo dapat nag tayo ng animal clinic PPBCC Veterinary Hospital. Be careful @everyone if ito ang hospital ng pet nyo." The overlay on the video added: "Di ako nagbayad ng 40k para lang tulugan ng vet."
So what really happened?
"It's just content. It was mainly content. Hindi niya sinabi what's her dog's condition," Licuanan said. "I thought that people would somehow think first."
According to Licuanan, when Yhuri, the dog, was brought to the PPBCC Veterinary Hospital, he needed a dental procedure due to rotten teeth and infected gums. "Iyak na ng iyak, and the dog was bleeding from his mouth."
Dental disease is one of the most common health issues in veterinary medicine. Studies show that 80 to 90 percent of dogs over the age of three have some kind of dental issue. It's worse in smaller breeds, and incidence increases with age. The main culprit of dental disease is plaque, especially underneath the gums. It is also linked to liver and heart disease. Aside from daily brushing to prevent tartar build-up, dog owners are also advised to schedule annual dental cleaning and regular check-ups to avoid serious cases of periodontal disease.
Yhuri was also diagnosed to have chronic ehrlichia, a tick-borne infectious disease, making her easily susceptible to infection due to a weakened immune system, low count of red blood cells (RBC) or anemia, and prolonged bleeding. Untreated ehrlichiosis is fatal, especially if it's in the chronic phase. Knowing from experience, once a dog has ehrlichiosis, it's likely that it will always have ehrlichiosis. A slight change in weight should always prompt the owner to bring the dog to the vet and get the test for ehrlichiosis and other blood parasites like babesia.
In addition, according to Licuanan, "non-compliant kasi 'yung owner even before the last two visits."
Yhuri's medical records show that her RBC is 2, while the normal count ranges from 5.7 to 7. Given the underlying conditions, all the vet could do upon Yhuri's confinement was "just to minimize the pain." The risk was explained to the owner, "and they actually even thanked me for accepting Yhuri." Licuanan later said that because she doesn't reject patients, even the most severe cases, this is what sometimes happens.
Yhuri suffered cardiac arrest at 3 a.m., and the veterinarian tried to revive her. After several attempts at revival, Yhuri was declared dead.
The accusation, "tinulugan ng vet," according to Licuanan, was likely because it was not until later in the morning that she was able inform the owner about the death of Yhuri. "Na-food poison ako that day. So, nakatulog ako agad sa hospital. Ininform ko siya nung umaga and I apologized because na-drain out ako."
Another accusation, "You denied us to be there to visit him." PPBCC Veterinary Hospital has certain rules regarding visitation hours, as most hospitals do. But Licuanan says she always has her personal lines open for clients. "Nag-uusap kami sa Viber, [I told her] 'Why didn't you message me that you want to visit?'"
And the "40k dental extraction"? Dental extraction at PPBCC Veterinary Hospital costs around P12k, but this price goes up if the dog has underlying issues like kidney disease, a history of blood parasites (like ehrlichiosis), and other tests to make sure that the dog is ready for any procedure. It's the same for humans, who go through pre-operative check-ups, including clearance from a cardiologist and pulmonologist, blood chemistry, and so on.
"Ang dami naming ginawang test sa dog niya [at] marami pa siyang dinecline. Sabi ko nga, 'It's a very serious condition for your dog.'," Licuanan said.
After Yhuri's death and his owner's post, previous patients have come forward, saying that their pet, too, had died at PPBCC. Licuanan knows the names of pet owners and pets who died at her hospital, and, according to her, the others were really just trolls.
One commenter, a medical doctor, posted about her cat dying in the hands of Licuanan. "Namatay yung cat niya. Why? Kidney failure at the age of seven months." The kitten was severely dehydrated and eventually succumbed to death.
Others posted about their experience in the low-cost spay service provided by PPBCC Foundation. "Usually ang namamatay is yung mga pinulot agad sa kalye tapos dadalhin sa'min. May iba lang talaga na, you know, pag pinagkakitaan nila yung pagre-rescue nila, they will find a way to blame us." Licuanan narrated that their infection rate is less than .01 percent and mortality rate is even less at .004 percent.
Aside from accusations of negligence, both the PPBCC Veterinary Hospital page and personal channels of Licuanan were also the subject of threats and harassment. Messages ranged from "Mamatay ka na sana" to "Sana lahat ng pamilya mo mag-50-50." These were sent to someone whose dad just had a stroke and a sister who just had heart surgery.
"Anong klaseng tao? Anong klaseng mga Pilipino 'to?," she said. "Sa'kin okay lang na i-post ka kung totoo yung nangyari, why not, di ba?"
Even her four sons, whom she's raising as a single mother, are getting bullied in school, with words like "killer vet" being thrown around. Licuanan said that two of her sons are in college, on their way to studying veterinary medicine, while the 14-year-old is already thinking of becoming a veterinarian.
"Sabi nung isa kong anak, "Mommy are you okay? Do you still want me to be a veterinarian?'"
The toxicity toward vets among pet owners has been prevalent recently, said Licuanan, and she is experiencing it now.
Other pet owners who have been with PPBCC are quick to defend the Veterinary Hospital. But the Foundation's founder has no choice but to accept the situation. "Mababago pa ba yung situation? Ganun ang ginawa na nila sa akin, di ba?" The Foundation is closing down, but the Hospital "will just to try to thrive right now."
The Heartbreaking Decision to Close PPBCC Foundation
"'Yung pinaka-heartbreak kasi is that it is my purpose in life," Licuanan said about the decision to close PPBCC Foundation. "Feeling ko baka I will never be the same after all the threats that I have received."
Philippine Pet Birth Control Center Foundation (PPBCC) is an "SEC-registered non-profit organization that works tirelessly to stop the spread of rabies through cat and dog population control," its About page says.
One of its most recent activities, a spay and neuter outreach event in Meycauayan, Bulacan last April 25, successfully neutered 163 pets.
In 2024, the Department of Health (DOH) reported 426 rabies-related deaths in the Philippines, almost double the rate in 2020, when there were 235 cases. These don't count unrecorded or untreated casess, where the human just dies after the rabies virus has already attacked the central nervous system.
Anti-rabies vaccination after an animal bite can also be very expensive. Post-exposure rabies vaccine is typically given as a series, with the first immediately administered after exposure, and subsequent doses administered on days three, seven, and 14.
While pets are often vaccinated against rabies, the same cannot be said for stray animals and pet owners who can't afford the annual vaccine. Rabies can only be truly eliminated, according to PPBCC, with animal population control. Overpopulation of cats and dogs also results in abuse, neglect, and abandonment. It is also why shelters have a high kill rate. And one way to solve this is by spaying/neutering (or kapon), a service offered by PPBCC Foundation, whether for free through vet missions in different places in the Philippines or at a low cost at the PPBCC Veterinary Hospital.
The first few vet missions of the PPBCC Foundation were all at the cost of the clinic. "People don't know na wala kaming donations." Sometimes, too, pets in critical condition are left at the hospital, with owners getting away with not paying the expenses. Despite this, they managed not to increase the cost of the kapon, even as anesthesia prices increased by P1,000 in the past year.
In a promo from March to April 2025, kapon for cats was low as P300, while kapon for dogs was at P800.
"Hindi ko pinaapekto 'yung Foundation, kasi sabi ko it is our advocacy. That is why we exist. Hindi porke't nagmahal ang anesthesia, magtataas tayo."
It is also in the PPBCC Foundation's pipeline to build a training center for vets on their old site along Boni Avenue (before they transferred to Primo Cruz).
"Na-realize ko na hindi kaya na kahit maraming vets pa ang nagkakapon to open a low-cost kapon. So what we're going to do is to make a big training center. Magte-training na lang kami ng mga vets. That's my plan for the old space. But eventually parang hindi na kaya," Licuanan said.
The Future in Limbo: What's Next for Dr. Mace and Animal Welfare?
"I think I have done enough," Licuanan said. "Parang ako naman, sarili ko naman yung iisipin ko." While PPBCC was officially registered in 2017, the veterinanrian has been advocating for pet birth control in the Philippines since 2006. "I have spent so much. The government is not paying me. And they know that. Hindi naman kami naniningil. We are just helping them."
While Licuanan did not want to add to the grief of Yhuri's pet owner, she is planning to pursue legal action given the gravity of the situation.
This online "kuyog culture" that the Philippines seems to have developed is affecting not only the likes of the PPBCC Foundation, but also other victims of fake news, whether it's misinformation, disinformation, or mal-information.
Licuanan pointed out how hard it is to have misleading posts taken down. "Kawawa talaga 'yung victims na kahit hindi vet. Easy for people to judge nowadays."
Recent surveys have shown that 70 percent of Filipinos consider fake news and its spread online as a serious problem, with 51 percent finding it hard to actually spot fake news. And, unfortunately, PPBCC Foundation has just made the statistics.
PPBCC Veterinary Hospital, "the hospital that sustains the Foundation, has no Facebook page as of the moment," according to their most recent post. You can reach them via 0991-802-6301. It is located at 102 Primo Cruz Street, Barangay San Jose, Mandaluyong.
Esquire Philippines has reached out to the pet owner (via Bestdeals.ph) and received this response: "Hi, as much as I want to, I will ask my atty."
