The Bantek Puwalas:

How the Bagobo Tagabawa Protect the Philippine Eagle?

This old Philippine eagle nest is one of nine ancient nest trees that is located within the BAgobo Tagabawa ancestral domain in Sibulan, Davao City.

For decades, biologists from the Philippine Eagle Foundation have climbed the steep forests of Mt. Apo to monitor one remarkable Philippine Eagle nesting territory. Year after year, they have returned to the same landscape to document breeding pairs, nesting attempts, and fledged young. It is the country's oldest continuously monitored Philippine Eagle nesting territory—a rare place where generations of one of the world's rarest eagles have successfully raised their young.

That is not by chance.

The nest stands within the ancestral domain of the Bagobo Tagabawa of Sibulan, Davao City. For generations, the community has protected these forests through its own customary laws, leadership, and respect for the land. Long before Mt. Apo became a protected area, these forests were already home to the Bagobo Tagabawa—and to the Philippine Eagle.

Their connection to the eagle is also part of their history.

Matanem Hernan Ambe, Indigenous Political Structure Head of the Unified Bagobo Tagabawa, speaks about the community’s enduring role in protecting Sibulan’s forests and the Philippine Eagle.

According to Bagobo Tagabawa tradition, a hunter named Pawa was carried by a giant Philippine Eagle to its nest after the bird took the wild pig he had hunted. Pawa stayed with the eagle and its chick until the young bird was old enough to fly. The eagle later carried him safely back to his village. When his son was born, Pawa named him Banog, the Bagobo word for eagle. Banog later became a respected datu and led his people to the valley now known as Sibulan.

Today, the story continues in a different way.

Twenty-seven members of the Bagobo Tagabawa community have completed training as Bantek Puwalas, or forest guardians. They are the newest generation of Indigenous protectors watching over the forests where the Philippine Eagle still breeds.

The newly trained Bantek Puwalas of the Bagobo Tagabawa stand with conservation partners following the turnover of patrol uniforms, field equipment, and safety gear.

The training was led by the Protected Area Management Office of Mt. Apo Natural Park, DENR Region XI, the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples Region XI, and the Philippine Eagle Foundation, working closely with the Sinabadan Kaag Tugallan, the traditional governing body of the Bagobo Tagabawa of Sibulan.

Mt. Apo Natural Park Protected Area Superintendent Clint Cleofe addresses guests during the World Nature Conservation Day celebration at the Philippine Eagle Center.

The Bantek Puwalas learned wildlife monitoring, forest patrol, navigation, first aid, biodiversity conservation, and protected area law enforcement. They will also be deputized by DENR Region XI as Protected Area Forest Rangers, giving formal recognition to the work they already do for their community and the protected area.

Their new uniforms and field gear were provided through the Earth Focus Initiative of The Chuck & Ernestina Kreutzkamp (CEK) Foundation. The support included patrol uniforms, field hats, backpacks, safety equipment, and other essential gear needed for long days in the forest.

Co-branded patrol uniforms, field hats, backpacks, safety equipment, and other essential gear will support the Bantek Puwalas as they protect the forests of Sibulan. The gears and equipment were generously funded by the the Earth Focus Initiative of The Chuck & Ernestina Kreutzkamp (CEK) Foundation, through the Raptor Resource Project.

The partnership also brought together the Raptor Resource Project, a long-time partner of the Philippine Eagle Foundation. On 28 July 2026, during the celebration of World Nature Conservation Day, John Howe, Executive Director of the Raptor Resource Project, together with Dr. Jayson Ibanez, Director for Operations of the Philippine Eagle Foundation, joined Protected Area Superintendent Clint Cleofe of Mt. Apo Natural Park in turning over the first set of patrol uniforms and field equipment to Matanem Hernan Ambe, Bagobo Tagabawa leaders, and the newly trained Bantek Puwalas.

Community leaders, forest guards, private sector representatives, conservation partners, and guests gather during the World Nature Conservation Day celebration at the Philippine Eagle Center.

The ceremony marked more than the distribution of uniforms and field gear. It affirmed a conservation model built on partnership. Indigenous communities, government agencies, conservation organizations, and international supporters each have an important role. But at its center are the people who have lived with these forests for generations.

Around the world, conservation often asks how damaged landscapes can be restored. Sibulan offers a different lesson. It shows what is possible when a community never stops protecting the forest in the first place.

The oldest continuously monitored Philippine Eagle nesting territory in the Philippines still stands today because its surrounding forest has remained in Indigenous hands and under Indigenous care. Today, that stewardship is being strengthened through the Bantek Puwalas—Bagobo Tagabawa forest guardians whose traditional knowledge is now matched with modern conservation training and formal recognition as Protected Area Forest Rangers.

Sibulan Bantek Puwalas (Forest Guards) were at the front line of the Mt Apo forest fire fighting initiative in 2016.

The Philippine Eagle remains one of the world’s rarest birds. Yet in Sibulan, its future is being shaped not only by science or protected area laws, but by a community that has safeguarded its ancestral forests for generations—and is preparing the next generation to do the same.