18/06/2025
Did you know that Rizal Park once served as a mass grave for poisoned dogs during the 19th-century anti-rabies campaign? 💔
This post from Dogs of the Philippines reminds us of a painful truth: animal cruelty has been part of our history far too long. But it’s never too late to rewrite that story.
Ngayong 2025, Let’s remember. Let’s reflect. And most of all—let’s act.
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A memorial may soon rise in Luneta—but the real tribute is in how we protect and love our animals today. 🧡
📚 Read more from Dogs in Philippine History by Ian Alfonso
📌 Full story in the original post below ⬇️
Every pet deserves quality care 🧡
On June 15, exactly 150 years ago, homeless dogs poisoned at the orders of the Spanish authorities were buried along the beach of Campo de Bagumbayan and Tondo (approximately the present-day Quirino Grandstand of the Rizal Park Luneta and Mel Lopez Boulevard). This was mandated by Manila Spanish Civil Governor Jose Morales Ramirez through a public bando (order) to mitigate the spread of rabies infection. This order was only one of the anti-rabies policies pioneered by a bando issued by Governor-General Rafael Maria de Aguilar on 16 August 1800, which mandated a one-dog-per-household policy and the killing of dogs in the Philippines, except those owned by the Spaniards.
The need for such graveyards in Manila was imperative since countless dogs were killed every day by way of poison. The authorities used strychnine, a crystalline substance developed specially to kill dogs (thus earning the Spanish moniker, mataperros or dog killer). Historian Nicolo Paolo Ludovice described in his dissertation that meat treated with strychnine was thrown into the streets for dogs to feast from 10pm to 4am. Another historian Ros Costelo Avila described the substance as bolas venenosas (poisonous balls), which were most likely scattered in public places for unsuspecting dogs to taste.
We bring this information to the public to reflect upon the 225 years of dog killing in the Philippines, yet rabies infection remains. There are 8 million stray dogs in the Philippines, based on an international study in 2024. Most of these dogs, if not all, are Aspins, once celebrated and revered by our ancestors as hunting dogs, but due to contacts with foreign breeds, they became mongrels (and we hope the indigenous dogs still remain in the provinces and indigenous peoples' communities).
In 2024, Rina Ortiz, President of Biyaya Animal Care, collaborated with historian Ian Alfonso, muralist Derrick Macutay, and sculptor Jester Oani to imagine a simple statue of a mother Aspin with her puppies in remembrance of the 150th anniversary of Rizal Park Luneta as a graveyard of dogs killed during the 19th-century anti-rabies campaign.
Ian Alfonso, author of the book Dogs in Philippine History, describes the proposed statue as follows: A skinny mother dog inspired by a typical Aspin with left wrist broken, represents the homeless dogs of the country who are survivors of history and life. Her three puppies represent Mindanao, the Visayas, and Luzon. Moreover, the suckling puppy symbolizes the survival of the Aspins and all the abused and neglected dogs, regardless of breeds, in the only paradise they know--our country, the Philippines; a sleeping puppy commemorates all the dogs killed throughout Philippine history, especially during the war against rabies infection the past 225 years; and a playful puppy heralds hope that a Filipino may still choose them, despite being unwanted.
Ortiz hopes that this statue inspires modern-day Filipinos to adopt homeless dogs and elevate appreciation of the dogs of our ancestors--the Aspins, the most vulnerable of neglect and abuse among dogs in the country.
The National Parks Development Committee and the National Historical Commission of the Philippines are still deliberating about placing this dog memorial at Rizal Park, Luneta. Let's hope that the authorities approve the idea of a dog memorial at the historic Luneta.
The cycle of killing continues. Every dog deserves a loving Filipino home.
Purchase a copy of Dogs in Philippine History via shopee.com/dogsphi.
