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| Some of the Triennial Xchange Series 7 delegates |
The AVP that they presented showed that there is a great degradation of the Philippine forests, especially where the Philippine eagles used to stay. It does not only destroy the habitat of the Philippine eagles, it also affects other things: there might be a landslide due to massive cutting of trees; people might lose their source of livelihood, their shelters and their food. Everything, indeed, is "inextricably connected".
It made me realize that we humans were given the power to take care of the nature that was given to us by God. Unfortunately, we are destroying it by illegal cutting of trees, throwing our garbage anywhere, etc. We are not thinking what this act brings to nature. We have only one planet left, and as rational beings; it is our duty to protect it.
Mang Doming, together with a foreign biologist, Dr. Robert Kennedy, who is also one of the founders of PEF, started an experiment on cooperative artificial insemination, an artificial way of breeding eagles. They never got any support because some people, especially the foreigners, did not believe that this method was possible.
But after 14 years of experimenting, they achieved success. Pag-asa, the first eagle that was born through this artificial breeding, opened the eyes of some institutions and individuals and made them support the PEF. This inspiring story shows the determination of Mang Doming and Dr. Kennedy. They never gave up. They failed a lot of times, but they never let their failures hinder them from achieving their goal. These two people taught me that I should stand no matter how many times I fall, and no matter what obstacles and troubles may come into my life, I should not surrender.
Mang Doming also shared that eagles lay only one egg per year. And waiting for the egg to hatch is not a joke. You have to watch over the incubated egg for 24 hours and you have to turn it upside down every 3 hours. You have to do these things for 56 days. That requires a lot of patience. It is similar to life, when you want to achieve something, you should persevere and work hard. When troubles come, you have to stay focused on your goal. You should not be distracted by the zingers around you.
Mang Doming also told us a about his life. That he was only grade six when he started working as a carpenter; that they were very poor so his family could not send all of them to school; that he had to work just for his family to have food to eat; that he was offered a scholarship to continue studying in high school; that he spent his high school years together with his two children; that he would bring his toddler together with him to school because her wife is busy doing something else that could benefit the family; that he was often laughed at by his HS classmates because he was bringing his toddler; that he graduated in college because of perseverance and faith in God; that he has traveled around Europe because of his work as a staff in PEF; that he achieved success and has helped nature despite his small income. His story really touched my life and it is worth sharing. I really told myself that I should set Mang Doming as one of the role models that I should follow.
Perseverance, Faith, Determination, Focus, Connection, these are the most significant words that would summarize all the things that I have learned after visiting the Philippine Eagle Center.
