Free veterinary care in Metro Manila is real, it is run mostly by city governments, and it is almost never a clinic you can walk into. It is an event — announced, scheduled, first-come — and the whole skill is catching it.
We hold eleven programmes. Here is what each one gives you, who runs it, and — the part most lists leave out — when we last saw evidence it was running.
What is actually free
Across the eleven, the services that recur are anti-rabies vaccination, kapon (spay/neuter), and microchipping. Some add deworming and consultation. One covers animal bite treatment for humans as well as vaccination for pets.
For scale: a cat spay is published at ₱2,500–₱5,500 in Metro Manila and a small-dog spay at ₱5,000–₱10,000, with a low-cost floor around ₱1,000 at PAWS PARC. A free kapon is worth thousands of pesos. It is worth rearranging a Saturday for.
What you will be asked for
The requirements are remarkably consistent, and they are worth having ready before you turn up:
- Proof that you live there. A city ID, a barangay certificate, or a utility bill in your name. This is the one that turns people away at the desk.
- Pet registration, where the local government requires it. Some require your animal registered with them before it can receive free services.
- Pre-registration for kapon. Walk-ins are common for vaccination and rare for surgery. Kapon almost always needs a slot.
- Fasting before surgery. If it is a kapon appointment, expect to be told no food from the night before. Ask when you book.
- A carrier or a proper leash. Several will refuse an animal that arrives loose.
One pet per owner per schedule is a common limit for kapon. If you have three cats, plan for three rounds.
Who runs them
Quezon City Veterinary Department runs the most substantial programme — weekly recurring events across barangays offering anti-rabies, kapon and microchipping, plus an annual World Spay Day event in February that adds deworming and consultation. It is also the one with the most paperwork: a QC ID is required and you register through the QC e-Services portal. Schedules go up on quezoncity.gov.ph and the QCVD Facebook page.
Pasig Veterinary Services Department runs free services every March for Rabies Awareness Month, mandated by executive order. The March 2026 event vaccinated 315 pets and performed 88 kapon — a useful number, because it tells you roughly how many slots exist and therefore how early to arrive.
Taguig City Veterinary Office runs Libreng Kapon para sa Aso at Pusa, announced per event on the official Taguig City Facebook page.
Makati Veterinary Services Office runs recurring libreng spay and castration drives alongside free anti-rabies, announced through Makati LGU channels and local news.
Caloocan City Veterinary Department runs recurring drives offering free anti-rabies for pets and free animal bite treatment for people — documented in March 2024 and again in March 2026.
Las Piñas LGU runs Libreng Kapon and joint anti-rabies events; a joint Las Piñas–Bacoor event served over 150 pets.
San Juan LGU runs an annual World Rabies Day programme each September — vaccination, spay/neuter and microchipping, open to San Juan residents, first-come at an announced venue.
Parañaque LGU offers free anti-rabies shots through seven animal bite treatment centres and OsPar-1.
Manila City Government has run free spay/neuter.
PPBCC Foundation, an NGO, is the outlier and in one way the most useful entry here: free kapon for indigent owners, ongoing rather than event-based, at PPBCC Veterinary Hospital on 155 Boni Avenue in Mandaluyong, with free anti-rabies for every neutered patient. It also runs LGU outreach missions. Details at ppbccfoundation.org.
How fresh each one is — read this column first
This is where most "libreng vet" lists quietly fail you. A programme that ran once in 2020 is not the same as one confirmed last month, and both look identical in a list.
Seen within the last month (August 2026): Taguig's Libreng Kapon, Makati's spay and castration drives, and PPBCC's ongoing programme.
Seen in the first half of 2026: Pasig's Rabies Awareness Month (March), Caloocan's drives (March), and Quezon City's weekly programme (February).
Older, treat as needing a check: San Juan's World Rabies Day (September 2024), Las Piñas (June 2024), Parañaque (March 2023, and the record itself says re-verify the current schedule), and Manila's free spay/neuter — documented as a December 2020 event, with recurrence unconfirmed.
We are not dropping the older ones. A programme that ran in 2023 will very likely run again, and knowing it exists is how you know what to ask your barangay about. But do not build a Saturday around the 2020 entry without ringing first.
How to actually catch one
Follow the city's own channels, not aggregators. Nine of the eleven are announced through official LGU Facebook pages or city websites. That is where the date appears first, usually with only a few days' notice.
Check whether you need a city ID. Kailangan ba ng city ID? Quezon City requires one and requires online registration. Most of the others are first-come at a venue. Assume you need proof of residence and be pleasantly surprised.
Arrive early. Pasig's March event handled 88 kapon in a day. These are queues, not appointments.
Bring the animal ready. For kapon that usually means fasting beforehand — confirm the hours with the organiser, because it varies and getting it wrong costs you the slot.
If you cannot wait for an event, ask about indigent programmes. PPBCC is ongoing rather than scheduled, and it is the one entry here you can pursue on an ordinary weekday.
If yours is not on this list
Whatever your area, the same three steps work:
1. Search Facebook for "[your area] City Veterinary Office" — this is where schedules actually get posted, usually with more notice than anywhere else. 2. Ring the city hall trunkline and ask for the veterinary office. Ask two questions: when is the next free kapon or vaccination round, and what do I need to bring. 3. Ask your barangay. Drives are frequently hosted at barangay halls and the barangay often knows before the announcement goes up.
Two areas we have seen reported but have not confirmed with the office itself: Muntinlupa (kapon, limited slots, announced on Facebook) and Navotas (kapon, reported Fridays, register at the Veterinary Unit, CFARMC). We are listing them as leads to chase, not as schedules to turn up to.
Source for the two above: urbancatsph.com, last updated 10 January 2026, no primary sources cited. Not independently verified by OpenVet.
⚠ If you know your area's schedule, or you work at a city veterinary office, tell us. We will list it with the source and the date we checked it, free, and correct it whenever you say it has changed. Nobody can pay to be listed on OpenVet.
What free does not mean
Free means the procedure. It does not always mean the medication afterwards, the cone, or a follow-up if something goes wrong. Ask what is covered before you commit — ano po ang kasama, at ano ang bayad? — so the day does not end with an unexpected bill.
⚠ What these programmes are not is an emergency service. If your animal is sick tonight, this is not the route — see [know where to take your pet in an emergency](/blog/know-where-to-go-pet-emergency).