From Gunshot to Guardians: The Eagle That Changed a Community

In August 2020, a message reached the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) about a Philippine Eagle being

kept in Bacuag, Surigao del Norte.

The sender was a concerned citizen, Ryan Orquina, an outdoor enthusiast who had made a costly but compassionate decision. He paid several thousand pesos to secure the bird after learning it might otherwise, be sold again, or worse, butchered for food. He named the eagle “Balikatan” in memory of his late father, a former member of the Philippine Army’s Balikatan unit. The word means “shoulder-to- shoulder” — a name that would come to symbolize collective responsibility.

A Family’s Mistake

An investigation by the Protected Areas and Biodiversity Conservation unit of DENR CENRO Tubod eventually traced the eagle back to a farmer from the uplands near the town of Gigaquit, Surigao del Norte. One weekend, he went hunting with his two children — what he once considered harmless family bonding. Using a homemade marble gun, he shot at a large raptor perched in the canopy. Only later did he realize he had wounded a Philippine Eagle.

The family tried to care for the bird for several weeks, feeding it meat they could barely afford. For a modest household, sustaining the appetite of the country’s largest raptor proved impossible. The children grew fond of the eagle, but practicality prevailed. The farmer eventually sold it, and that sale led to Ryan Orquina’s intervention.

When authorities located the farmer, enforcement came with education. He learned about wildlife protection laws and the severe penalties attached to harming a Philippine Eagle. More importantly, he learned what the bird represents: ecological balance, national heritage, and a species hanging by a thread.

"Law enforcement is a necessity,” said Mariglo Laririt, Assistant Director for the Biodiversity Management Bureau of the DENR, “but it is not an end in itself. Conservation is. Of course, we are extremely relieved that the eagle did not die upon getting shot. Else the outcome would have been very different. But what we had was an opportunity for a more impactful intervention that would hopefully become longer lasting. This case shows how a compassionate and concerned citizen acted, and for the part of the farmer and his family, how awareness can turn regret into responsibility.” Rather than close the door, several were opened.

From Hunter to Guardian

The farmer was invited to join the forest guard program of the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Gigaquit — not only to protect the forest, but to serve as testimony. He now speaks openly about his mistake, urging others not to follow his path.

“Many of our forest guards were once hunters or involved in illegal logging,” said Chandru Bonite, Mayor of Gigaquit. “They know the forest intimately. Now, they use that knowledge to protect it. That transformation is powerful.” LGU Gigaquit trained and supports 15 Bantay Banwa forest guards who perform monthly forest patrols.

“For us, transformation is at the heart of conservation,” added Marife Macalisang, Team Leader and Chief of the Conservation Section of DENR CENRO Tubod. “When communities are empowered to change, they don’t just adapt – they thrive.”

Among those now patrolling the mountains are several former hunters and illegal loggers — men of the Bantay Banwa who once extracted from the forest, but now defend it.

A Young Eagle Who Could Not Return

Veterinary examination revealed that Balikatan, a young male weighing 3.8 kilograms, was partially blind. His left eye had lost vision; his right showed early-stage cataract formation. Though otherwise physically healthy, he could never survive in the wild.

For a species with only about 400 breeding pairs remaining, the loss of one wild individual is significant; but Balikatan’s story was not finished.

Searching for Origins

Because Balikatan was young, conservationists believed the nest site where he was hatched could not be far from where he had been shot — in the forest ranges of Gigaquit, including the slopes along the Mount Hilong-hilong Key Biodiversity Area.

From 2020 onward, joint expeditions by PEF, DENR, LGU Gigaquit, and “Bantay Banwa” Forest guards intensified monitoring efforts. At dawn, teams listened for territorial calls. They mapped flight paths. They documented prey species and canopy structure.

Among those walking the ridgelines was the former farmer, now a trained and deputized Bantay Banwa (forest guard) leader.

In 2025, persistence yielded a breakthrough: an active Philippine Eagle nest built nearly 40 meters high in a massive Tagongtongan tree. Prey-delivery behavior confirmed a breeding pair raising young.

“For us, documenting prey delivery is the clearest sign that a pair is successfully nesting,” said Andrei Von Tirona, PEF biologist and expedition team leader. “It means the forest is functioning — ecologically intact enough to support breeding.”

Protecting the Baoy Watershed

Even before the nest was formally confirmed, groundwork had begun.

In 2024, DENR, PEF, and MENRO Gigaquit conducted a baseline study of the area’s flora, fauna, and geography, and initiated efforts to declare the potential nesting territory under the “critical habitat” mechanism of the Philippine wildlife law. The proposed site lies in the forest ranges of Gigaquit, at the heart of the now rare limestone, or karst, forest of the Baoy Watershed — a critical watershed for Gigaquit, Claver and nearby towns.

Karst forests are among the most fragile and biodiverse ecosystems in the Philippines. Their limestone formations regulate water flow, recharge aquifers, and support specialized plant and animal communities. They are also highly vulnerable to quarrying and land conversion.

The confirmation of an active nest in 2025 significantly strengthened the case for declaring the area a “Critical Habitat” for the Philippine Eagle. A verified breeding territory transforms a proposal into an ecological imperative.

Shoulder-to-Shoulder

Balikatan will never soar above Surigao’s limestone ridges. His blindness confines him to managed care — a living reminder of human impact.

• Yet his legacy is written across the region:

• A concerned citizen who chose compassion.

• A farmer who chose repentance and action.

• Forest guards who chose transformation.

• An LGU that chose protection.

• A government agency that faithfully enforced its conservation mandate.

• A watershed now moving toward “Critical Habitat” status.

• And a breeding pair thriving high above a karst forest canopy.

“Balikatan” means shoulder-to-shoulder.

In Gigaquit, Surigao del Norte, conservation is no longer only about what was wounded in 2020. It is also about what was rediscovered in 2025 — in the forest ranges of Gigaquit, at the heart of the Baoy Watershed — where remorse became resolve, and a gunshot gave way to the call of nesting eagles.