ASC takes flight in Philippine Eagle Week with film showing

In commemoration of the 27th Philippine Eagle Week, Apayao State College (ASC) joined the nationwide celebration with the theme “Soaring Together: Empowering Communities, Educating Minds, and Protecting the Philippine Eagle.” The event featured a film showing and forum held on June 11 at the EKB Auditorium, ASC-Luna Campus.

For. David A. Rodolfo, ASC’s Environmental Sustainability and Governance Officer, shared insights into the College’s flagship initiative, Project Saving the Banamba (Philippine Eagle – Pithecophaga jefferyi) through Sustainable Biodiversity Conservation Technologies and Innovations in Apayao. He explained that the project encourages the utilization of available proper land-use technologies and innovations.

“Indirectly, these projects intend to preserve the remaining habitat of the Philippine Eagle by providing alternative and pro-biodiversity conservation for the local populace of the direct barangays involved,” he added.

Biologist Maria Susana Legaspi of the Philippine Eagle Foundation delivered the rationale for the film screening, stressing its role in raising awareness about the country’s critically endangered national bird.

The featured film, To Save Our Eagle—a 45-minute documentary by Neil Rettig—was produced by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology in collaboration with the Philippine Eagle Foundation.

According to Biologist Legaspi, the film chronicles their expedition in search of the Philippine Eagle in the forests of Mindanao. It also sheds light on the threats facing the species and the ongoing conservation efforts led by the Philippine Eagle Foundation. Dr. Rema Bascos-Ocampo, Campus Academic Dean, reflected on the symbolic virtues of the Philippine Eagle—vision, resilience, elevation, and focus. “We soar-not for ourselves alone but for something greater,” she said.