The iconic Philippine eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) is the most revered bird of prey in the Philippines.
Also known as the monkey-eating eagle, this endemic eagle is the largest extant eagles in the world in terms of length and wing surface.
It’s sheer size and ability to fly and soar high in the sky in search of prey within its territory or range makes it the most fearsome among all birds of prey in the Philippines.
Several laws provide the legal basis to protect the Philippine eagle against all threats—particularly illegal wildlife trade, hunting or the destruction of their habitats.
The laws include the Republic Act 7586, or the National Integrated Protected Areas System (Nipas) Act, which established protected areas set aside for conservation; and RA 9147, the Wildlife Resources Protection and Conservation Act, which prohibits acts that threaten wildlife resources and their natural habitats.
Apex predator
Josefina de Leon, Wildlife Resources Division chief at the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), said the Philippine eagle, being the top predator in the wild, helps maintain the ecological balance within its territory.
Interviewed by the BusinessMirror on May 8 at the DENR-BMB office inside the Ninoy Aquino Park and Wildlife Rescue Center in Quezon City, de Leon said being a national symbol, the existence of the Philippine eagle is important.
“Its very existence in the forest means its preys still exist,” she added.
De Leon said the Philippine eagle is known to prey on monkeys, snakes, monitor lizards, lemurs, all of which have different but important functions in an ecosystem to maintain the ecological balance.
“It means the food chain is complete. The more pairs [of Philippine eagle] we have in the wild means the more healthy ecosystems we still have,” she added.
‘Not just a big bird’
The Philippine eagle is the national bird of the Philippines by virtue of Proclamation 615 series of 1995 signed on July 4, 1995, by then-President Fidel V. Ramos.
Dennis I. Salvador, executive director of the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), said in a statement sent to the BusinessMirror, in time for the celebration of the Philippine Eagle Week from June 4 to 10, that the Philippine eagle is more than just a big bird.
The PEF is one of the leading conservation and advocacy non-governmental organizations (NGOs) dedicated to the protection and conservation of the Philippine eagle and their habitats.
It is also one of the DENR’s leading nature conservation partners that continue to conduct research, on-the-ground community work and to help educate the people about the importance of the Philippine eagle and their natural habitats.
“As an equal wonder of creation that is found only in the country, how we treat our national bird greatly reflects the kind of connection we have with the natural world. Our character as individuals and as a people are tied to how we treat our national symbol,” he said.
Eagle Watch
Through a program called Eagle Watch, the DENR and its partners continue to monitor known habitats of the Philippine eagle to protect and conserve the critically endangered species.
The DENR-BMB serves as the repository of all reports of Philippine eagle sightings, nesting or incidence, such as rescue or killing of the revered bird of prey.
De Leon said new sightings of Philippine eagle, especially of juveniles outside known habitats, is something to be happy about as far the DENR-BMB and its partners are concerned.
“Because it only proves there are still areas where they can survive. They can only survive if the area has a healthy ecosystem,” she added.
A pair of Philippine eagle needs a territory with a radius of at least 7 kilometers to 13 kilometers to be able to survive, she said.
Declining population
While it is the apex predator in the wild, the population of the Philippine eagle is on the decline.
The DENR-BMB believes there are around 500 pairs of breeding Philippine eagles left in the wild.
The PEF places the eagle’s population at around 400 breeding pairs.
Whichever is the case, the International Union for the Conservation for Nature (IUCN) lists the rare, endemic species as “critically endangered,” which means the species, which can only be found in the Philippines, is in the brink of extinction.
The Philippine eagle is known to exist in eastern Luzon, Samar, Leyte and in Mindanao, particularly Northern Mindanao, where the bulk or highest number of breeding pairs have been recorded, including several pairs discovered outside protected areas.
Hunting for food, sports or trophy, and habitat loss because of the massive deforestation have been identified by scientists as the two leading causes of the continuing decline in their population.
Philippine Eagle Week
The protection and conservation of the Philippine eagle were institutionalized with the declaration of the Philippine Eagle Week from June 4 to 10 of each year by then-President Joseph Ejercito Estrada through Proclamation 79 signed on February 24, 1999.
Since then, the DENR has been launching various activities to highlight the importance of the Philippine eagle, and to increase the awareness and appreciation to the country’s national bird.
This year the 20th Philippine Eagle Week celebration will culminate at the Manila Ocean Park at Luneta Park, Manila, on June 9.
The event will be highlighted by the introduction of “Hero,” a white-bellied sea eagle on loan from the DENR-BMB.
There will also be a signing of a memorandum of agreement on the Renewal of Wildlife Loan Agreement between the DENR and the Manila Ocean Park to be led by DENR-BMB Director Crisanta Marlene Rodriguez and Francis Low, Manila Ocean Park executive vice president and COO.
The DENR-BMB and the Wild Birds Photographers of the Philippines will also showcase a photo exhibit in the area.
Integrated conservation program
To boost its limited resources, the DENR-BMB has partnered with various conservation groups to boost its limited financial and human-resource capacity dedicated for the Philippine eagle’s protection and conservation in the wild.
There is no specific program dedicated to the Philippine eagle or any other iconic animals like the Tamaraw or the Philippine crocodile that are also threatened with extinction.
Interviewed on May 8 at the DENR-BMB office, Anson Tagtag, the chief of the wildlife management section, said starting in 2015, all the activities related to threatened species conservation were integrated into the programs and activities of every DENR regional office.
Nevertheless, he added the strategy appears to have been helpful as the DENR regional offices are now making the budget proposals, ensuring the proper allocation for wildlife conservation on conservation on the ground.
He said the only way to ensure the survival of the Philippine eagle is to continuously expand the country’s forest cover through massive reforestation programs and enforcement of various environmental laws that will protect not only the Philippine eagle but all threatened species, against man-made threats.
“This is where we come in. From the reports we gather and actual site visits, we are able to make a policy recommendation to enhance our wildlife conservation programs,” Tagtag added.
Eagle center
Protection and conservation efforts for the Philippine eagle, nevertheless, are getting the much-needed boost from NGOs.
The 31-year-old PEF, which is dedicated to saving the Philippine eagle and their habitats, for one, has been helping keep track of the population of the species.
Its dedicated work force, mostly experts in their respective fields, has been conducting various activities to learn about the rare species and impart knowledge to increase awareness and appreciation of the bird, particularly in areas where they are known to exist, which incidentally, are also the areas where the threats are strong and real.
The PEF also has been implementing a captive-breeding program at its facility, the Philippine Eagle Center in Davao City, which also serves as a rescue and rehabilitation center, where injured rescued eagles are kept for treatment before their possible release back into the wild.
In 1992 the PEF successfully bread and hatched its first two Philippine eagles named “Pagasa,” which means hope, and “Pagkakaisa,” which means unity.
Sad, happy stories
Maria L. Almeda, a DENR-BMB staff in charge of documenting reports about the Philippine eagle, said information from all over tells of sad and happy stories about the plight of the bird species.
The DENR-BMB keeps historical data that keeps track of sightings of the Philippine eagle. The record dates back to 1993, from the time the office started monitoring the bird’s sightings.
“Sometimes, we receive reports of rescue and then the eagle is released back into the wild, only to be shot and rescued again,” she said.
Success stories of eagles having been rehabilitated and released back into the wild, she said, are inspiring stories that need to be shared to enlighten the public about the plight of threatened wildlife and the hope of being able to go back into the wild, their natural habitat.
Just last March, Almeda said another Philippine eagle in Apayao province in the Cordillera has died. The eagle was only a juvenile, about 5 months old, when discovered by the DENR monitoring teams.
Another Philippine eagle remains missing in the province for three years now.
The eagle has a tracking device attached to its leg but the device suddenly went dead or stopped sending back signals.
Philippine eagles, Almeda said, are sometimes shot, captured or injured. But there are also reports of rescue, successful rehabilitation and eventual release back into the wild.
In the last three years, she added there is no new distribution record but there were reports of sightings of juvenile eagles in known nesting sites, indicating successful hatching and an ongoing nurturing by parent-eagles.
In 2017 a total of 32 sightings were reported, while in the previous years the number of sightings reached up to 47.
Incentives ‘a must’
Despite various efforts to protect and conserve the Philippine eagle, including wildlife law enforcement and massive information, education and communication campaign, hunting or killing of the king of Philippine birds persists.
According to Jayson Ibañez, the director for Research and Conservation of PEF, all the effort by both the government and private-sector partners seem wanting to address the problem.
In response to a BusinessMirror interview via social media on May 30, Ibañez said Filipinos must have an incentive to conserve the Philippine eagle.
“For us conservation die-hards, contributing to a common good is enough [nonmaterial] incentive. But for the rest of the Filipinos who might not yet share such values, some other incentives might be necessary, such as forms of financial and other material incentives,” he added.
For instance, Ibañez said for poor upland villages close to eagle habitats, meeting basic needs is their primary life motivation.
“But if conservation helps them achieve first order needs [need for food, job and security], then that would incentivize adoption of a conservation lifestyle,” he said.
Ibañez noted that once the people in upland villages are out of the poverty trap, then they would have the luxury of enjoying the nonmaterial values for eagles and wildlife, such for aesthetics and spiritual health.
Stiffer penalty
According to Ibañez, imposing stiffer penalties would be an adequate disincentive to cruel acts against wildlife.
“Wildlife-crime theory indicates that for wildlife laws to be an effective deterrent against wildlife crimes, three factors must be in place: a] that the chances of getting caught is high, b] that conviction of the guilty should be quick, and that c] penalty should be adequately heavy,” he said.
The government and private sector, he added, should invest more in a combination of incentives and disincentives.
“Such incentives can be subsidizing forest guards and other forms of green jobs, strong law enforcement and education,” he said, adding that he is hopeful that a national law would give incentives to green jobs and services by the upland poor and as a poverty-alleviation strategy would be enacted.
Despite the threats, the sad plight of the country’s forests, the natural habitats of threatened wildlife, all hopes are not lost while the Philippine eagle continues to soar.
Image credits: John McKean/Philippine Eagle Foundation