We can Dance!

The Philippine All-Stars is a Philippine hip-hop dance group. They won the 2006 and 2008 World Hip Hop Dance Championships. They were formed on 2005 by twelve individuals that were working in the Manila underground Hip-hop scene. They also joined the “Artists Revolution: 365 days to change” campaign which asks the Filipino voters to be more critical in choosing their political leaders in the coming 2010 elections.

2009 Grand Champions, Malta Guiness Street Dance Competition, Kenya, Africa
2009 1st Runner Up, UDO World Street Dancing Championships, Blackpool, United Kingdom
2008 Gold, World Hip Hop Championships, Las Vegas, Nevada
2007 Bronze, World Hip Hop Championships, Los Angeles, California
2006 Gold, World Hip Hop Championships, Los Angeles, California
2006 Gold, International Hip Hop Open d' Italia, Turin Italy
Major Performances/Showcase:
The Big Groove 2009: Asia Hip Hop Festival, Singapore (June2009)
Central Cali Hip Hop Showdown with Quest Crew, Ave Lindsay, CA (June2009)
Wanted (Street Dance Battle), Melbourne, Australia (Mar2009)
Pepe Goes to Market: Sining Selebrasyon ng birthday ni Jose "Pepe" Rizal, Market! Market! (June2008)
WAGI: A Celebration of Filipino Victories in the Performing Arts, CCP Main Theater (Jan2008)
Sari-Saring Sayaw, Sama-Samang Galaw: Galaw-Galaw Galawgaw, The Filipino Soul in Dance, CCP Main Theater (Jan2008)
Friendship Games, Fullerton, CA (Oct2008)
Planet Boogiezone, Global Dance Showcase, UCLA Royce Hall, Los Angeles, CA (Aug2008)
special guest, French Spring 7: Pockemon Crew, CCP Main Theater (June2007)
Major Endorsement:
Smart Bro (2010)
Nestea Fit (2009)
Music Videos:
"Mainit" (feat Q-York, Kenjhons & Chelo)
"Time to Shine" (for Gawad Kalinga)
"Im a Champion" (Q-York)
Major Events/Gigs/Concerts:
Lea Salonga..Your Songs Concert (2009-2010)
Front Act (with Q-York), Pussy Cat Dolls Concert (June2009)
365 Days To Change, Music Museum (May2009)
AXN 3-on-3, Market! Market! (April2009)
Republ1c Launch Party, NBC Tent (Feb2009)
Nestle Kick-Off Event, SMX/EDSA Shangri-la Hotel (Jan2009)
Gary V Live at 25, Araneta Coliseum (Nov2008)
Afterparty, Salvatore Ferragamo's Autumn/Winter 2008 Collection Preview (Oct2008)
Marithe Francois Girbaud Fashion Show, The Block (July2008)
Gilbert Arenas Agent Zero Tour, Trinoma (July2008)
Flo-Rida Tour, SM Malls (June2008)
Penthouse 7: The Grand Reunion, NBC Tent (April2008)
Hooters Launch, San Miguel by the Bay (April2008)
Penshoppe Event, Boracay (April2008)
front act, Ne-Yo in Manila, Araneta Coliseum (Feb-Mar2008)
Sanuk Footwear Feashin Show, Glorietta (Feb2008)
Speedo Spring/Summer Fashion Show, Bonifacio High Street (Feb2008)
Nestle "Win As One" Event, Sofitel (Feb2008)
front act, Christina Aguilera Back to Basics Tour (July2007)
MTV VJ Hunt Finals, Mall of Asia (June2007)
Jollibee Kiddie Jamboree, Mall of Asia (May2007)
PPL Meet APL, Human Fashion Show, Mall of Asia (Mar2007)
Lovapalooza, MOA Open Field (Feb2007)
Apl vs Paquiao Victory Christmas Concert, CCP Open Field (Dec2006)
Animax Fashionability, Glorietta Activity Center (Nov2006)
Nokia 5500 Sport Launch, Rockwell Tent (Nov2006)
AXN's Amazing Race Asia Promo Tour, Mall of Asia (Sept2006)
ADIDAS T Mac Launch, Meet & Greet, Mall of Asia (Aug2006)
Bench Fever: Underwear & Denim Show, Araneta Coliseum (June 2006)
Adidas Philippines MVP Night, Bellevue Hotel (June2006)
Hip Hop Awards (2006, 2007)
South Border & Jasmine Trias concert, Grand Convention, Cebu (Mar2006)
Levi's Engineered Jeans & MTV Homecoming Tour (Jan-Feb2006)
SEA Games Aero Gymnastics Opening, Rizal Coliseum (Dec2005)
Levi's Engineered Jeans Free to Move Launch, Volvo Showroom (Nov2005)
[edit]TV Guestings, interviews, features
Showtime (2010)
ASAP (2010)
ASAP '09 (March/April 2009)
Proudly Filipino, QTV11 (Oct 2008)
America's Best Dance Crew (Performance for Live Audience) (Aug 2008)
Rated K, ABS-CBN (June2008)
Wowowee (June2008)
Sharon (May2008)
Boy & Kris
ABS-CBN Summer Team Kapamilya Station ID (Mar2008)
(2005-2007) TFC Bravura, Sports Unlimited, TV Patrol, Kay Gandang Umaga, Life @ ANC, Mornings @ ANC, 700Club Asia, 100% Pinoy, Unang Hirit, Homeboy, ASAP, GroopieTV, E-TV, Eat Bulaga, SOP, Master Showman, Urban MYX, Star MYX, MTV Jukebox
Competitions:
judges (Kyxz, Maya) Hip Hop Dance Battle, Pagadian City (Oct2008)
judges (Lema, Kenjhons, Laurence) Groove Manila, Crossroad77 (Oct2008)
judge (Lema), Buhawian: The Metro Manila Dance Idols (May2008)
judge (Kyxz), Last Crew Standing 2007, Oahu, Hawaii
judges (Lema, Kenjhons, Kyxz) & performers (Allstars), Hoopdreamz Groove Urban Festival, Olympic Park, NSW, Australia (Dec2006)
Allstars Flava Workshops with Guest Choreographers:
Aus Ninja of IHOW and House of NInja New York, Profo Won of Floor Gangz, Bboy Dizzy of Supernaturals/7 Commandoz, Alexis (Team Millenia) from CA, Hiro from Japan, Lenny of Do Dat from Toronto, Canada, Reo from Norway, Ron from Canada, Mikey Disco of Soul Sector from Bay Area, Chung Peng of Static Noyze, Mark (Swarf) of Pink Mafia from UK
Charity Events:
Taguig Workshop (Oct2009)
GK Expo, The Fort Open Field (Oct2008/2009)
Step Up for Life Dance Workshop with US Embassy, DSWD & SM (Lema & Sheena with Rick & Joel of Havikoro), Davao, Cebu, Manila (May2008)
Adidas/GK Christmas Outreach Program, Brookside, QC (Dec2007)
Assumption/GK, Hiyas ng Maynila (Dec2008)
(for GK) FilAmfest: Arts & Culture Festival, San Diego, CA (Oct2008)
(for GK) The 16th Annual Festival of Philippine Arts & Culture, San Pedro, CA (Sept2007)
Educathon: Walk for Education with Pathways, Marikina Sports Center (April2007)
GK1MB, Araneta Coliseum (June2007)
Knock-Out Drug, Panabo Cultural Center, Panabo, Davao (Dec2006)
Water Pump Inauguration (c/o Rotary Club), Old Balara Elementary School (2005)
MU Variety Show 2006, Philippine General Hospital (2005)
The Eugene Tejada Benefit Show, San Juan Arena (2005)
Pathways Workshop for Public School Students, Ateneo Covered Court (2005)
ALLSTARS concerts and events
Beyond Hip Hop, SM Amphitheater, Pampanga (Jan 2009)
Hip Hop Generation, Clarke Quay Arena, Singapore (Sept 2008)
Choreographer's Birth, Irwin Theater, Ateneo (June2008)
Beyond Hip Hop, Balara, Bataan (2008)
Beyond Hip Hop in San Diego, National City, CA (Aug2007)
Allstars Anniversay/Dance Battle, Ratsky's Morato (June2007)
Allstars Studded Night: The Send-Off Party, Embassy Superclub (July2007)
Beyond Hip Hop: The Repeat, Metrobar (July2007)
Beyond Hip Hop, Metrobar (June2007)

Credit: Wikipedia.org

Bohol ~ God's Little Paradise

A Short History of Bohol

Although people have been living on Bohol long before Magellan reached the islands that are now the Philippines, our written records start here, and about the events before that time, little is known, and has to be carefully reconstructed from oral traditions and archaeological evidence.

It is said that around 1200, the Lutaos arrived from northern Mindanao. They build a settlement on stilts in the strait between mainland Bohol and the island of Panglao. This town later became a prospering local center of power, also known as the the "Kingdom of Dapitan." It lasted until it was abandoned in 1563, out of fear for raids by the Portuguese and their allies from Ternate. It will be seen below how this event helped the Spanish to get a foothold in the Philippines.

The Arrival of the Spanish

In 1521, Ferdinand Magellan and his crew were the first Europeans to reach the Philippines coming from the East. When they arrived they weren't really welcome: Magellan himself was killed on Mactan Island near Cebu, by the hand of a local chieftain or "Datu", Lapu Lapu.

Following Magellan's route, the Loaisa Expedition left La Caruña in Spain on 24 July 1525. This expedition also reached the Philippines, but on the first of June, 1526, a hurricane separated the ships. One of the ships, the Santa Maria del Parral, stranded on on the shore of North-East Mindanao. The survivors were captured and sold into slavery. One of the crew members, Sebastian de Puerto (or de Puerta), came in the hands of the Boholano chief Sikatuna. This is the first contact on record between a Spaniard and a Boholano.

More than forty years after Magellan's demise, in 1564, Spain sent out four expeditions to establish colonies in the Far East, and to pick up a share of the lucrative spice trade under control of the Portuguese. These expeditions failed, but in the next year, Miguel Lopez de Legazpi was more successful. Sailing westwards from Mexico with four ships and almost four hundred men, he reached the Philippines in the beginning of 1565, and established a Spanish settlement.

This wasn't an easy achievement. Just like Magellan before him, Legazpi met with hostile native warriors, who didn't like the idea of foreigners invading their islands. His attempt to land on the island of Cebu was thwarted, and he decided to look for a friendlier place. He lifted his anchor and headed south in the direction of Mindanao. A change of wind, however, forced his fleet back to north in the direction of Bohol. With the help of a Mohammedan Malay pilot from a captured trading ship from Borneo, he learned that the Filipinos were involved in trade with the Moluccas, Borneo, Java, Malacca, and even far away places such as India and China.

The Blood Compact of Legazpi and Sikatuna

Also at Bohol, Legazpi was given a hostile welcome. From his Malay pilot, he learned that this hostility was due to marauding expeditions of the Portuguese. Coming from the Moluccas, the Portuguese raiders traversed the Visayan seas, and just a few years before, in 1563, had plundered Bohol and killed or enslaved about one thousand of its inhabitants. Of course, the Boholano's easily mistook the Spaniards for Portuguese.

Again with the help of his pilot, Legazpi explained two chiefs of Bohol, Datu Sikatuna of Bool and Datu Sigala of Loboc that they were not Portuguese, and had come in peace, and not to plunder or kill. This convinced the Kings to end their hostility and enter pact of friendship. On 16 March 1565 (or 25 March, records are confused due to the Gregorian calendar reform in 1584), Legazpi and Sikatuna performed the now famous blood compact, probably not far from the modern town of Loay. This event is still celebrated in Bohol every year in June with the Sandugo ("One Blood") festival. The same ceremony was repeated three days later with Sigala.

The Conquest of Cebu

After he assured himself of the aid of Sikatuna and Sigala, Legazpi decided to try to establish a permanent Spanish settlement on Cebu. With the native kings as guides, he lifted his anchor and left Bohol on Easter Sunday, and arrived at Cebu on 27 April 1565.

On the shore of Cebu, the local king Tupas already expected them. He had grouped his warriors in full battle array, ready to resist Legazpi and his invaders. In an attempt to negotiate a resolution of the impasse, a priest, father Urdaneta, went ashore, but he wasn't able to convince Tupas. Legazpi then initiated an attack. While the ship's artillery battered the coast, Spanish soldiers landed and attacked the Cebuano warriors. With their superior weapons the Spanish won a victory, and forced the troops of king Tupas to retreat to the hills.

After his defeat, king Tupas was more inclined to enter into peace negotiations. With the help of Cid Hamal, a Mohammedan Malay who stayed in Cebu at that time, a peace treaty was drawn up on the fourth of June 1565. In this treaty, king Tupas recognized the Spanish king as sovereign and agreed to pay a tribute, for which, in return, Legazpi promised to protect him against his enemies and to allow trade between the Filipinos and Spaniards. Also, Legazpi was granted a strategic site on Cebu, where he founded the first permanent Spanish settlement in the Philippines.

Establishment of Catholicism

In the footsteps of the Spanish explorers came the missionaries. About thirty years after the Spanish established themselves on Cebu, on 17 November 1596, two Jesuit priests, Father Juan de Torres and Gabriel Sanchez, arrived in Baclayon, Bohol. It is said that the mother of the encomendero of Bohol, Doña Catalina de Bolaños invited them. They established their headquarters in Baclayon, and quickly started to further spread the Catholic faith on the island.

Only a few years after the Jesuits' arrival, on 26 October 1600, Baclayon was raided by some 300 Maguindanao Moros commanded by Datu Sali and Datu Sirongan. In response, the Jesuits moved their headquarters to the inland town of Loboc, at a save distance from the coast. Since then, until the departure of the Jesuits from the Philippines in 1768, Loboc has been the residence of the local Jesuit superior. Here they also founded the first parish on the island in 1602, followed in 1604 by a school, the Seminario Colegio de Indios, a training school for the children of the local ruling class.

Credit: www.Bohol.ph

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra

The Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra (PPO) is the nation's leading symphony orchestra and a resident company of the Cultural Center of the Philippines (the CCP), located on Manila's shoreline. The PPO's Music Director/Principal Conductor is Olivier Ochanine

Inaugurated on May 15, 1973, as the CCP Philharmonic, the new orchestra was initially intended to accompany artists performing at the Cultural Center of the Philippines. Its first music director was Luis Valencia, with Julian Quirit serving as concertmaster. Six years later Imelda Marcos, then First Lady of the Philippines, asked Oscar Yatco to reorganize the ensemble, and in 1982 the "Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra" took its present name and adopted a new vision: to become a world-class symphony orchestra comparable with the finest.

The PPO keeps a busy schedule year-round, its main concert season (September to April) supplemented by regular performances at the San Agustin International Music Festival, by special concerts, and by community outreach activities.

Cultural Center of the Philippines, Home of the PPO
The PPO has performed with such renowned conductors as Mendi Rodan, Piero Gamba, Yaacov Bergman, and Nicholas Koch. It has also collaborated with leading Filipino and foreign musicians, including Cecile Licad, Martin Nievera, Lea Salonga, Regine Velasquez, Van Cliburn, Renata Tebaldi, Judith Engel, Anthony Camden, Freestyle, and David Benoit.
Overseas, the PPO has successfully toured Europe, and in 2002 it participated in Asia Orchestra Week at Tokyo Opera City Concert Hall. The orchestra gave a 2004 Charity Royal Command Concert at Bangkok's National Theater at the invitation of Princess Galyani Vadhana, elder sister of the King of Thailand. This was a project of the Fund for Classical Music Promotion, a nonprofit organization that provides scholarships to young musicians to further study music, in cooperation with the Embassy of the Philippines in Bangkok and the Ministry of Culture of Thailand.
In 2006, the PPO's tour of the United States helped celebrate the centennial of the first Filipino migrants to Hawaii and California.
In 2009, after an exhaustive two-year search process, the PPO and the Cultural Center of the Philippines selected Olivier Ochanine as the PPO's next Principal Conductor and Music Director to start January 2010.

Discover Camotes Island

The Camotes Islands are a group of islands that form part of the province of Cebu, in the Philippines. The island group is located east of Cebu Island, southwest of Leyte Island, and north of Bohol Island.
The Camotes is composed of the following four islands and their municipalities:
Poro: the municipalities of Poro and Tudela.
Pacijan: the sole municipality is San Francisco.
Ponson: the sole municipality is Pilar.
Tulang: is part of the barangay Esperanza, which is part of San Francisco.
The islands of Pacijan and Poro are connected by a paved road called a causeway. Ponson is separated by the Camotes Sea, lying about four kilometers northeast of Poro. Tulang is located off the northern tip of Pacijan.
The Camotes are low-lying islands. There is only one hill on Pacijan and another hill on Poro. These hills are used by a telecommunications company for relay stations. Pacijan has a fresh-water lake around two kilometers in length. Palm trees are the dominant plant on the islands. There are also numerous native varieties of fruit trees and other plants.

Lovely Batanes

Batanes lies on a group of islands collectively called Batanes Islands and they are the northernmost islands of the Philippines. They are located between the Babuyan Islands (belonging to Cagayan Province) and Taiwan. The islands are sparsely populated and subject to frequent typhoons.
The three largest islands are Itbayat, Batan, and Sabtang. The northernmost is Mavudis Island.
Almost one-half of Batanes are hills and mountains. Batan Island, with a land area of 35 km², is generally mountainous on the north and southeast. It has a basin in the interior. Itbayat Island, which has a total area of 95 km², slopes gradually to the west, being mountainous and hilly along its northern, eastern coast. As for Sabtang, mountains cover the central part of its 41 km² area, making the island slope outward to the coast.
The islands are situated between the vast expanse of the waters of Bashi Channel and Balintang Channel, where the Pacific Ocean, merges with the China Sea. The area is a sealane between the Philippines and Japan, China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. It is rich with marine resources, including the rarest sea corals in the world.
The province is hilly and mountainous, with only 1,631.50 hectares or 7.10% of its area level to undulating and 78.20% or 17,994.40 hectares varying in terms from rolling to steep and very steep. Forty two percent (42%) or 9,734.40 hectares are steep to very steep land.
Because of the terrain of the province, drainage is good and prolonged flooding is non-existent. The main island of Batan has the largest share of level and nearly level lands, followed by Itbayat and Sabtang, respectively. Itbayat has gently rolling hills and nearly level areas on semi-plateaus surrounded by continuous massive cliffs rising from 20–70 meters above sea level, with no shorelines. Sabtang on the other hand, has its small flat areas spread sporadically on its coasts, while its interior is dominated by steep mountains and deep canyons. Batan Island and Sabtang have intermittent stretches of sandy beaches and rocky shorelines.
The terrain of the province while picturesque at almost every turn, has limited the potential for expansion of agriculture in an already very small province.

credit: bp.blogspot for the photo.

Sabah is Philippines

The status of the territory of Sabah, previously known as North Borneo, is currently disputed between Malaysia and the Philippines. Presently, Sabah is one of the states that formed Malaysia in 1963. Despite that, the Philippines and the heirs of the Sultanate of Sulu have made claims to the territory though the claim is currently dormant.
On 23 January 1878, in exchange for modern weapons with which to keep Spanish colonizers away from the Sulu Archipelago, the ruler of Sulu, Sultan Jamalul Alam, leased the territory of North Borneo to Gustavus von Overbeck, an Austrian who was then the Austro-Hungarian Empire's consul-general in Hong Kong. This was accomplished via a trading company belonging to von Overbeck's British partner Alfred Dent, and later via the British North Borneo Company. Von Overbeck procured the necessary firearms and also paid the Muslim dignitary an annual sum equivalent to 5,000 Malaysian dollars (now known as ringgit).
The key word in the agreement was "padjak," which has been translated by American, Dutch and Spanish linguists to mean "lease" or "arrendamiento." The agreement further states explicitly that the rights to the territory may not be transferred to a nation or another company without the sultan's expressed permission.
In 1906 and in 1920, the United States formally reminded Great Britain that North Borneo did not belong to the Crown and was still part of the Sultanate of Sulu. However, the British did turn Sabah into a Crown leased Colony. The Philippine Constitution of 1941 states that the national territory of the Philippines included, among other things, "all other areas which belong to the Philippines on the basis of historical rights or legal claims." Malaysia was federated in 16 September 1963. Even before Sabah was incorporated into Malaysia, the Philippines sent delegations to London reminding the British Crown that Sabah belonged to the Philippines.
Malaysia insists that Sabah is under the sovereignty of Malaysia based on the fact that under agreements that Baron von Overbeck and Alfred Dent secured with the Brunei Sultanate on 29 December 1877 and the Sulu Sultanate on 22 January 1878, the sultanate of Sulu agreed to lease Sabah to Malaysia. The British Crown renewed the lease on 15 July 1946, but finally ceded Sabah to Malaysia on 16 September 1963. Malaysia is still believed to be paying the annual rent to the Sultan of Sulu.
Malaysian control was further strengthened by two referendums: the first facilitated by the United Nations-backed Cobbold Commission, from February to April 1962 and the second before the formation of Malaysia in September 1963. Both referendums recorded 70% of Sabahan population voting for Sabah to be part of Malaysia.
[edit]

the Great Philippine Eagle

The Philippine Eagle's nape is adorned with long brown feathers that form a shaggy crest. These feathers give it the appearance of possessing a lion's mane, which in turn resembles the mythical griffin. The eagle has a dark face and a creamy-brown nape and crown. The back of the Philippine Eagle is dark brown, while the underside and underwings are white. The heavy legs are yellow with large, powerful dark claws, and the prominent large, high-arched, deep beak is a bluish-gray. The eagle's eyes are blue-gray. Juveniles are similar to adults except that their upperpart feathers have pale fringes.
The Philippine Eagle is typically reported as being 86–102 centimetres (2.82–3.35 ft) long, but a specimen at the Field Museum of Natural History (FMNH) is 112 centimetres (3.67 ft) long. The male is probably about 10% smaller than the female, but this is labelled with some uncertainty.[11] Based on the longest specimen at FMNH (had been kept in captivity and may therefore not be representative of wild individuals), the maximum length of the Philippine Eagle exceeds that of all other living eagles. It weighs 4.7 to 8 kilograms (10 to 18 lb) and has a wingspan of 184 to 202 centimetres (72 to 80 in).[11] Its maximum weight is surpassed by two other eagles (the Harpy and the Steller's Sea Eagle) and the wings are shorter than large eagles of open country (such as the Martial Eagle, Wedge-tailed Eagle and Steller's Sea Eagle), but are quite broad.
The most frequently heard noises made by the Philippine Eagle are loud, high-pitched whistles. Additionally, juveniles have been known to beg for food by a series of high-pitched calls.

Habitat and Distribution

The Philippine Eagle is endemic to the Philippines and can be found on four major islands: eastern Luzon, Samar, Leyte and Mindanao. The largest number of eagles reside on Mindanao, with between 82 and 233 breeding pairs. Only six pairs are found on Samar, two on Leyte, and a few on Luzon. It can be found in Northern Sierra Madre National Park on Luzon and Mount Apo and Mount Kitanglad National Parks on Mindanao. Some are under care of the Palawan Crocodile Farm.
This eagle is found in dipterocarp and mid-montane forests, particularly in steep areas. Its elevation ranges from the lowlands to mountains of over 1,800 meters (5,905 ft). It is estimated that only 9,220 square kilometers (2,280,000 acres) of old growth forest remain in the bird's range. However, its total estimated range is about 146,000 square kilometers (56,000 sq mi).

Diet

The Philippine Eagle was known initially as the Philippine Monkey-Eating Eagle because it was believed to feed on monkeys (the only monkey native to the Philippines is the Philippine long-tailed macaque) exclusively; this has proven to be inaccurate. The primary prey varies from island to island depending on species availability, particularly in Luzon and Mindanao. This is due to the islands being in different faunal regions. For example, Philippine flying lemurs, the preferred prey in Mindanao, are absent in Luzon. The primary prey for the eagles in Luzon is currently unknown. The eagles prefer flying lemurs and Asian Palm Civets, but they occasionally eat small mammals, birds (owls and hornbills), reptiles (snakes and monitor lizards), and even other birds of prey. There have been reports of eagles capturing young pigs and small dogs. It is estimated that the flying lemur could make up 90% of the raptor's diet in some locations.
Eagle pairs sometimes hunt troops of monkey cooperatively, with one bird perching nearby to distract the primates allowing the other to swoop in unnoticed for the kill.

Conservation

In 2010, the IUCN and BirdLife International listed this species as critically endangered. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature believes that between 180 and 500 Philippine Eagles survive in the Philippines. They are threatened primarily by deforestation through logging and expanding agriculture. Old growth forest is being lost at a high rate, and most of the eagle's forest in the lowlands is owned by logging companies. Mining, pollution, exposure to pesticides that affect breeding, and poaching are also major threats. Additionally, they are occasionally caught in traps laid by local people for deer. Though this is no longer a major problem, the eagle's numbers were also reduced by being captured for zoos.
Charles Lindbergh, best known for crossing the Atlantic alone and without stopping in 1927, was fascinated by this eagle. As a representative of the World Wildlife Fund, Lindbergh traveled to the Philippines several times between 1969 and 1972, where he helped persuade the government to protect the eagle. In 1969, the Monkey-eating Eagle Conservation Program was started to help preserve this species. In 1992, the first Philippine Eagles were born in captivity through artificial insemination; however, it was not until 1999 that the first naturally bred eaglet hatched. The first captive-bred bird to be released in the wild, Kabayan, was released in 2004 on Mindanao; however, he was accidentally electrocuted in January 2005. Another eagle, Kagsabua, was released March 6, 2008, but was shot and eaten by a farmer. Killing this critically endangered species is punishable under Philippine law by twelve years in jail and heavy fines.
Its numbers have slowly dwindled over the decades to the current population of 180 to 500 eagles. A series of floods and mud slides, caused by deforestation, further devastated the remaining population. The Philippine Eagle may soon no longer be found in the wild, unless direct intervention is taken. The Philippine Eagle Foundation of Davao City, Mindanao is one organization dedicated to the protection and conservation of the Philippine Eagle and its forest habitat. The Philippine Eagle Foundation has successfully bred Philippine Eagles in captivity for over a decade and conducted the first experimental release of a captive-bred eagle to the wild. The foundation has 32 eagles at its center, of which 18 were bred in captivity. Ongoing research on behavior, ecology and population dynamics is also underway. In recent years protected lands have been established specifically for this species, such as the 700 square kilometers (170,000 acres) Cabuaya Forest and the 37.2 square kilometers (9,200 acres) Taft Forest Wildlife Sanctuary on Samar. However, a large proportion of the population is found on unprotected land.