The Issue of Philippine Eagle Endangerment

The Philippine Eagle is a very large forest predator native to the Philippines. It is viewed as one of the three biggest and most dominant falcons on the planet. Sadly, it is also one of the planet’s exceptional and without doubt the most critically endangered vertebrate species. The Philippine Eagle is known for its uniquely arched snout and long crown plumes, and the only blue-eyed bird of prey on the planet with a vision that can see eight time the length than that of humans The Philippine Eagle is the Philippines’ national bird which have held a special space in the cultures of many civilizations not just from its size and beauty but because it symbolizes Filipinos’ power, strength, freedom and adversity. ​The Philippine Eagle is the world's largest eagle and can only be found in the country. King of all birds seemed to be ​strong yet so vulnerable. Though it’s considered as our national bird, Filipinos still see them as entertainment for shooting purposes. They are still being shot despite the presence of law protecting them and the fact that Filipinos considered them to be great trophies. This lack of patriotism and lack of kindness to animals brought the Philippine Eagle population down. Since the population is decreasing in number, Philippine Eagles became closer to becoming extinct and that is far from what we envision would happen. 

Among the rarest and most powerful birds in the world, it has been declared the Philippine Eagle continues to face extinction and is critically endangered, with an estimation of only 400 pairs left in the wild, mainly due to massive loss of habitat resulting from deforestation in most of its range and with the practice of poaching. Hunting Philippine Eagle in the wild proceeds right up until the present time, with the giant raptors being shot or caught, demonstrative of the degree of mistreatment the eagles face from heartless seekers and even farmers. The availability of firearms and guns in our country gave rise to more deaths of Philippine Eagles. Protecting and keeping Philippine Eagles safe remains a tough battle since people that are supposed to be protecting them are the ones shooting and killing them making the Filipinos consumers of their own treasure. 

In line with what is happening to our national treasure, the government must pursuit substantial actions of strengthening campaigns in order to build cognizance among the people in restoring animal’s natural habitat. Campaigns or programs such as raising awareness of the current situation of the endangerment of the Philippine eagle must be done since the actions that are taking place are not heard by the Filipinos and even by the government. The government’s neglection of the Republic Act No. 1975 stating “An act regulating the ownership, possession, sale, importation and use of chainsaws, penalizing violations thereof and for other purposes.” resulting for more Filipinos to do illegal logging causing the Philippine Eagles to lose its own habitat, therefore resulting to near extinction. 

It was said that the Biodiversity Management Bureau (BMB) is calling for more multi-part collaboration on preserving and ensuring the fundamentally endangered Philippine eagle. The Philippine Eagle Center, an organization from Davao City formed 30 years ago, still gives every filipino the hope that the Philippine eagle would never go extinct. The organization’s goal is to increase the Philippine eagle’s population. The foundation also conducts eagle and forest preservation awareness activities in partnership with schools, local government units, private businesses, and the media. Despite the deforestation issue and human threats, the Philippine Eagle Center are gaining more supporters. When in fact, PEC are receiving a lot of donors waiting to adopt a Philippine eagle. 

Foundations like PEC must continue to grow, prosper and influence other Filipinos to take legal action regarding the decreasing number of Philippine eagle. The government, most especially, must help in providing more campaigns and organizations in accordance to the Philippine eagle issue in order to show how they support their very own treasure. Here are some of the legislations implemented by the government in which we are highly in favored: 

Presidential Administrative Order No. 235 which states that wounding, taking, selling, exchange/exporting, processing, and killing of eagles are prohibited. This act is a good way to help increase the population of the Philippine eagles yet not all people are familiar with this bill and therefore is still continuing the prohibited act and still the government are not taking any operation that would strengthen the said bill. 

General Administrative Order No. 1 Series of 1971 in which they prioritize to protect eagles in its nesting sites prohibits cutting of any tree or plant within a kilometer of a Philippine nesting site. This law is a great help for as we know that Philippine Eagles have been greatly impacted by massive habitat loss due to deforestation and disappearance of large nesting trees. In this way, they will be given a private space in which they can safely roam around without worrying where to land or where to find a place to stay when a pouring rain comes. People also need to reduce and minimize the use of agricultural pesticides to prevent poisoning of animals at the top of the food chain. 

The health of an ecosystem is maintained by its plants and also animals. When species become endangered, it is a sign of an ecosystem’s imbalance. This balance is difficult to maintain: the loss of one species often triggers the loss of others. The conservation of endangered species is important for humans as well. When ecosystems fail, our own health is at risk. By saving endangered species, we are ultimately saving ourselves. With the help of the people and the government’s voice we can all prevent our very own National treasure, the Philippine eagle, from extinction and also save our ecosystem. The Philippine eagle is truly a Filipino pride and this is one of the reasons why they have to be protected and saved from disappearing in our land. 

References

• Sarmiento, B. (2018). ​Coming to the Rescue of the Endangered Philippine Eagle. ​Retrieved From http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/coming_to_the_rescue_of_the_endangered_philippine_eagle/?fbclid=IwAR3uiEMOWoWKCkmfoLyEhPgNGUZDGPeK7alBdG8v339mA2mfGt1eKMj5v3g
• Teves, C. (2018). C​onservation, protection of endangered PH eagle pushed. ​Retrieved from http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1037831?fbclid=IwAR0TtZnd4ttzofJoY4F4639eBVR-y8YxXQh7kAoDitl3QViloi1o_mslVck  
• The Philippine Eagle. (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.philippineeaglefoundation.org/the-philippine-eagle
• Deavilla, N. (2018)​. Philippine Eagle: 11 Facts About The Philippines' National Bird. ​Retrieved from https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/philippine-eagle-11-facts-about-the-philippines-national-bird/?fbclid=IwAR2sjJbZ71gbLBLN7PlNNsnPC0D29Q-6zssn4wMf-Zk1ewwQkILwcjxg2mc
• http://www.earthisland.org/journal/index.php/articles/entry/coming_to_the_rescue_of_the_endangered_philippine_eagle/?fbclid=IwAR3uiEMOWoWKCkmfoLyEhPgNGUZDGPeK7alBdG8v339mA2mfGt1eKMj5v3g
• http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1037831?fbclid=IwAR0TtZnd4ttzofJoY4F4639eBVR-y8YxXQh7kAoDitl3QViloi1o_mslVck
• http://www.philippineeaglefoundation.org/the-philippine-eagle
• https://theculturetrip.com/asia/philippines/articles/philippine-eagle-11-facts-about-the-philippines-national-bird/?fbclid=IwAR2sjJbZ71gbLBLN7PlNNsnPC0D29Q-6zssn4wMf-Zk1ewwQkILwcjxg2mc