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| Pag-asa |
The Triennials Xchange Series delegates, who were sent to Davao City last Dec. 20-24, by the Ramon Aboitiz Foundation, Inc. (RAFI), were able to push a few questions to Mr. Domingo Tadena, the Former Deputy Director of the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF). Here is what he had to say about the foundation and his opinions and messages to the youth.
What is your advocacy in this foundation?
“It is conserving and protecting the Philippine eagle. Basically, the responsibility that we were given that time, [when I was still the deputy director], was to breed the endangered species.”
What motivated you to conserve the Philippine eagles?
“Well, the motivation started in the small things that I have learned. Eventually, I have realized that it is good to hear that we have helped nature despite the small income that we are receiving. And that we can contribute to the environment. I have faced some challenges; one of these is the difficulty in breeding the Philippine eagle. It needs dedication, time and perseverance. It’s really nice to hear that I have accomplished these things even when I was still young. ”
How did you start the foundation?
“After the study of Dr. Robert Kennedy (the founder of the Philippine Eagle Foundation) he saw that the Philippine eagle is becoming extinct and this animal are critically endangered. They cannot be seen in other countries. They are only endemic in four Philippine Islands, namely Northern Luzon, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao. Dr. Kennedy and his colleagues recommended that the captive eagles that cannot be released in the wild should be bred and that their offspring should be released back into the wild.
They have seen that the greatest effect of this recommendation is that this can be an umbrella to the forest conservation. The Philippine eagles are known as one of the largest birds in the whole world. It is the only eagle that hunts monkeys, that’s why we call them monkey-eating eagles. And it is a good indicator to our environment mainly because say, in one rural community, we can ask ‘are there Philippine eagle present there?’ We can say that there is no presence of eagles there, simply because there is no habitat that the eagles can live in. So we have to conserve and protect them.”
What do you think is the role of the youth? Is it important that the youth could see the issues of forest degradation and threat of the extinction of Philippine eagles?
“Maybe we should teach the youth how to take care of the environment because they are the next caretakers of our environment. When the old [present leaders] are gone, the youth are the next persons who will lead. Without their good idea and the good upbringing that they had when they were in the early stage, what will happen to the next generation? Through the youth, our living in this world will remain sustainable. This does not only apply to the Philippine youth but to the youth all over the world, because all of us are just are sitting on the same boat. If we don’t pay attention to the destroyed edge of the boat, we will all drown. The importance of the youth is that big.”
What is your message to the youth?
“Well, the youth should get involved because; first, there will be world peace when everyone works hand in hand. And, we have the resources present in our environment right? Let’s talk about issue on hunger. We experience hunger because we thought that our resources are scarce, but if it is sustainable, we can alleviate or stop it. If we just work hand in hand, our surroundings will be clean and no one will be hungry, etc. It would all boil down to the principle ‘when everyone works hand in hand, this world would be peaceful.’”
In your opinion, is it important that there will be an interaction between the old and the new generation?
“For me, the actual learning, like visiting the Philippine Eagle Foundation, is important because it will forever leave a mark in your brain. Your knowledge will be enriched and you can achieve higher if there are ‘experienced’ people who will guide you; learning process is continuous from old to the younger generation. There will come a time that you [the youth] will achieve even more than we have achieved.”
“…all of us are just are sitting on the same boat. If we don’t pay attention to the destroyed edge of the boat, we will all drown.”
-Mang Doming Taneda
-Mang Doming Taneda
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| Ate Camille, me and Mang Doming |
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Mang Doming with some of the Triennials Xchange Series 7 delegates |
Nice. Love the what Mr. DOmingo said :))