Today is a significant day in our country as we commemorate our precious freedom. We all know how our ancestors struggled to fight for our freedom. It is then a timely event for Globe Business and PEF in the spirit of independence and freedom!
A highly-endangered national symbol is set to be release to its natural habitat today, June 12, 2015. This is through the partnership of Globe Business and the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF). This event only shows that Globe Business is truly dedicated to show its commitment to the sustainability and conservation of our country’s biodiversity.
‘Pamana‘, is a rehabilitated Philippine eagle, at the Mt. Hamiguitan Range in Davao Oriental. The enterprise ICT arm of Globe Telecom and the PEF will reintroduce Pamana today in the spirit of national pride and environmental consciousness on Independence Day. This will also be a celebration of a successful partnership between a business entity and a non-government organization whose mutual aim is to protect and conserve the country’s natural resources.
“As an ecologically-responsible company, we take pride in finding opportunities to show our genuine care for the Philippine environment as well as the creatures which thrive within them, such as our collaboration with the PEF. As Pamana takes flight on the most important day of our nationhood, we also hope to fire up the spirit of pride and environmental consciousness among Filipinos as individuals, as well as being the sentinels of Mother Nature within the industries they work for,” said Globe Senior Vice President for the Enterprise Group Nikko Acosta.
Acosta also confirmed that this year, Globe Business will continue its support PEF through an additional P500, 000 grant in the aforementioned areas of work to ensure that more Philippine eagles like Pamana can be cared for and eventually set free in the wild.
On the other hand, PEF Director Dennis Salvador acknowledged that, “We are very glad to have partnered with Globe Business in protecting the environment this side of the country. Taking care of Pamana as well as our environs in Mindanao together for three years is proof to everyone that it is possible to have a synergy between the private sector and groups such as the PEF for the higher good of our environment.”
“For an endangered species like the Philippine eagle, every individual counts. Thus, the ultimate goal of our rescue and rehabilitation is to eventually release them back in the wild where they belong. These released raptors will help augment wild populations by replacing old and dying individuals. Pamana’s reintroduction to the area will hopefully contribute to increasing and improving its population once it finds its mate and breeds,” Salvador pointed out.
There is a conservative estimate of only about 1,000 individual eagles remaining in the Philippines, and still, they faces continued threats of shooting, hunting, trapping, and deforestation that further threaten its dwindling population. It is therefore a concern that our future generations will no longer have the chance to see them in the wild. The Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi) is now listed in the International Union for Conservation of Nature as “critically endangered,” or facing severe habitat loss, and an extreme fluctuating population, according to PEF.
Pamana was turned over to the PEF in 2012, after it was retrieved in Iligan City. It suffered two gunshot wounds: one on its left breast and another on its left wing. It was immediately brought to the Phil. Eagle Center in Davao City where it was treated and its full recovery took three years. It was suspected that the eagle has been a target of a for possible stealing, as its detached claws maybe sold for up to US$200 a pair. Its other parts, including the feathers, wings and head, are also valuable items sold in the black market, where a whole body of the raptor may sell for US$1,000, according to various websites.
Working to save Pamana, the Phil. Eagle: from left, Globe Business Head of Marketing Gerry Soler, Phil. Eagle Foundation Exec. Director Dennis Salvador and Globe Corporate Social Responsibility Director Bong Esguerra.
With the three-year partnership between Globe Business and PEF, total funding by Globe Business to PEF has reached about P1.2 million. It was pointed by the Head of Globe Business that engaging Philippine corporations to similar causes for the environment can create a greater scale and impact for conservation programs.
This is a testament that Globe Business not only do business but an act of goodwill for our homeland.
You too can be a part of this advocacy by giving your donations through Globe Rewards points of 100, 50, 20 and 10 by texting DONATE PAMANA and send to 4438, while GCash account holders may follow the steps after dialing *143# and choosing “GCash” in the menu.
Karina is not your ordinary supermom. She juggles her time bonding with her three amazing kids while being in the loop on the latest happenings in the tech and lifestyle scene. Follow me on Instagram (@digitalfilipina) regularly visit www.digitalfilipina.com for daily dose of updates not just for moms but for everyone!
