Nita Lichauco: A passion for action

A philosopher once said that kindness to animals is one of the highest forms of charity, because one cannot be paid back and there is no vested interest involved. If this is true, then there is a great deal to be said about Nita Hontiveros-Lichauco, who calls protecting animals "my life’s work, my career."

When one meets the hyper-energetic, still very slim Nita, whose stamina many of her peers can only wish for, one easily discovers that "a life’s work" is not a mere figure of speech. Her Quezon City abode reveals a lot at a glance. There are–for now– eight dogs and 21 cats in cages, strays Nita has picked up and which she cares for until she finds suitable owners for them.

"Sometimes nobody wants to adopt dogs because pangit daw," she laments.

"They ask, ‘Meron ba kayong imported?’ But what we have are askals (asong kalsada)."

The hardier ones Nita doesn’t keep in Quezon City, but sends to the family-owned Shangri-La Luna in Pangasinan. "There are 19 cats there now and 11 dogs. I think it’s more ideal there because they have fresh air," she says. "Although I’m not there, we have our people there."

"My children" is how Nita calls her animals. There is no faking her fondness for them, as one sees when she gently picks up a cat from a cage, caressing it before engaging in small talk with the creature. Nita’s naughtiness also reveals itself when she says that the cat’s name is H.T. Ritz, the H.T. standing for "Hoy Tarantado".

Nita has a great sense of humor that helps carry her through what could be a demanding–if not unappreciated–undertaking. She has encountered some opposition in caring for animals. She says, "‘A lot of people are suffering,’ people say, ‘what are you doing for them?’ But by helping animals, do we not help people?"

Nita also has her upbringing to thank for having nurtured her life-long passion. Born in Capiz the eighth of 10 children of the late Jose Hontiveros (a Supreme Court Associate Justice at the time of his death, he also was a Governor of Capiz and Aklan when the two provinces were still one, and a two-term pre-World War II Senator) and the former Vicenta Pardo, Nita recalls growing up in a house with plenty of pets.

"Somehow we always shared our pets," Nita reminisces. "I cannot tell you how many times I was bitten because I had the habit of getting the puppies when the (mother) dog had just given birth. But I didn’t have any trauma. Our parents taught us respect for animals; they taught us to be kind. I remember one merienda when I was eight years old. At that time you dressed up even for merienda, and the whole family would be seated around the table. Since we were such a large family, we were assigned chairs. When it was time to eat, there was a cat on my chair. I got annoyed because I was already hungry. So I tilted the chair and the cat fell off. My mother saw what happened and she said, ‘The cat had the right to stay there.’ I said, ‘But that’s my chair.’ And she said, ‘Yes, but the cat got there ahead. You could easily have picked up the cat and put it down; you didn’t have to push it off.’"

The seed had been planted, so to speak, and Nita says of the years that ensued, "If I saw cruelty–an animal being beaten or not being fed–I’d tell the owner. Whether we were friends or not, I didn’t care."

Nita spent her elementary and high school years at the Assumption Convent, and completed an Associate in Arts degree at UST. She also studied Music at the Philippine Women’s University. In later years she studied French at the Alliance Francaise.

"I wanted to take Law but my mother wanted me to become a musician. My mother was an excellent violinist. I’m a pianist," Nita says. She regrets not having become a lawyer because "If I had taken Law, I would have been a better animal protector."

Nita realized she had to belong to an organization to be more effective in her work. So she joined the Philippine Animal Welfare Society (PAWS) in l962, and hasn’t left it since (she was president from l997 to 1998). The Quezon City home Nita has been leasing for the past 30 years serves as PAWS’ headquarters.

"What staff?" Nita laughs when asked who helps her out at the headquarters. "I don’t have any staff! I only have my two maids and a driver, with whom I rescue dogs."

"PAWS was organized in l954 by Muriel Jay, a British educator," Nita continues. "The members then were all expats and all volunteers. PAWS was formed to protect cats, dogs and horses which at that time were not very well-treated. Eventually, Muriel went home to Britain and she died in an accident. All the expats started going home in the late 1960s. In the meantime, I kept on with my own animal rescues. PAWS today has about 40 members, all college-educated volunteers from varying fields."

Nita has fond memories of her early PAWS days. "Three firemen went up a wooden flagpole to help save a kitten which couldn’t come down. Can you see them doing that now? Life was really nicer then. Nowadays you call the police and they’ll tell you, ‘You’re nuts, that’s only a cat!’

"In those days, Manila was quite nice," she says. "Two men with tricycles would go around picking up stray puppies, cats or kittens and bring them to the clinic in a small lot in Makati built by PAWS. Then we would have the animals adopted out. In those days, finding suitable owners was easy. It’s not easy to do that now, (that’s why) some animals are stuck with me."

One asks Nita if she hasn’t sought help from the government. "They’re always short of funds," Nita bemoans. "Animal welfare is always at the bottom of the list of priorities, if it is in the list at all."

PAWS’ projects have certainly kept Nita on her toes–animal rescues and facilitating adoptions; the ongoing construction of the PAWS Animal Rehabilitation Center (patterned after those in developed countries, the Center will subsidize veterinary services to animals belonging to the lower-income sectors); the Doctor Dog program where dogs help entertain and cheer up young patients in hospitals; cooperating with organizations that have similar concerns; conducting seminars or lectures; and publishing PAWS.com, the group’s official publication. Nita has also been writing a monthly column entitled Animal Welfare for Mr. and Ms. magazine since 1982.

Nita has the highest regard for her fellow-animal advocates, who she came to appreciate even more during the afa symposium.

"If you want to meet the most interesting, the most stimulating and the bravest people on earth, go into animal welfare," Nita enthuses. "You cannot believe the people that you meet! We may have diverging views– some of us are for euthanasia, some are definitely against it; some are for giving up animals for adoption, some for hoarding–but anybody who’s helpless, who’s an underdog or suffering are those we want to help. That’s why we also feel the same way about children, trees, plants–anything."

She concludes: "Suffering is suffering, whoever or whatever suffers."