Opening Remarks
Philippine Eagle Ball
(delivered by Usec. Bayani Agabin)
April 17, 2018
National Museum of Natural History
Good afternoon. My boss, Secretary Dominguez, really wanted to be here but he was advised by the doctor to rest. So he asked me to read the speech for him.
I know that this matter is very close to his heart. He’s been involved in the Philippine Eagle Foundation for a long time.
And so on his behalf, I’d like to welcome all of you and go through the message of Secretary Carlos Dominguez, “Let the Eagle Soar.”
His Excellency Sung Kim, US Ambassador to the Philippines; members of the diplomatic corps; Mr. Fernando Zobel de Ayala, president of the National Museum of Natural History; Director Jeremy Barns; members of the board of the Philippine Eagle Foundation present here today; distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen:
Thank you for making time to come to this event. Your support is so crucial to ensuring the survival of the Philippine eagle.
This proud animal is a national icon. It symbolizes strength, courage, grace and heritage. It is also threatened with extinction.
The Philippine Eagle Foundation was established to help ensure the survival of this national icon. Through the years I have been associated with the Foundation, I realized that saving the Philippine eagle is a challenge that goes beyond preventing poaching and assisting in the reproduction of the species.
The Foundation is involved in a broad range of activities to help the Philippine eagle’s survival. These activities include protecting the bird’s habitat, therefore helping in forest management and the protection of watershed areas. Capacity building activities have been conducted to involve local governments in the effort. The Foundation has also been involved in organizing livelihood projects for indigenous communities as they participate in protecting the eagle’s habitat.
It has always been very important to increase public awareness through these efforts to conserve the Philippine eagle. The challenge is immense, and the resources required need constant replenishment. Improved public awareness translates into improvements in the flow of support for this great task.
In this light, I wish to acknowledge the support of a very diverse group of individuals and companies that are helping raise public awareness about the need to conserve the Philippine eagle. Without their support, the task of ensuring the eagle’s survival would have been very difficult indeed.
This afternoon, I would like to highlight the contributions made by John Herrera’s Agila collection. John is a Filipino designer based in London. Last year, he was honored with Britain’s Top Designer Award.
The Philippine Eagle Foundation has also been working with the Lab of Ornithology of Cornell University to produce a short film about the eagle. Produced by Cornell, the film is created by six-time Emmy awarded cinematographer Neil Rettig.
In order to create the film, Neil spent several months deep in Mindanao’s tropical forests to document the bird and its habitat. It perfectly captures both the nobility of the eagle and the many challenges to its survival.
I look forward to receiving more offers of support from concerned groups and individuals. Every small thing counts. There are not very many eagles left, even as the Foundation tries its very best to help the bird reproduce in captivity.
The effort to ensure the Philippine eagle’s survival is at the same instance an effort to conserve the environment. We have to encourage sustainable practices. We need to build a culture that helps nurture the ecology.
The survival of the Philippine eagle will also mean the survival of our communities. We need to build a new awareness of the symbiosis between the human community and a sustainable environment. We need to build a new culture that is more mindful of the natural order and the other species that thrive in that order.
In sum, this is ultimately about us; about our capacity to be kind to the natural world; about our empathy for the world we should care for as stewards.
Again, on behalf of the Secretary, thank you and have a great evening.
@@@
Copyright © 2021 Department of Finance