Mati Mayor Francisco Rabat issued the declaration last Oct. 24 in time for the town’s Sambuokan Festival, following the results of a study conducted by a team from the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) indicating the presence of a family of the giant raptor in the forested area of Barangay Cabuaya, about 30 kilometers from the town proper.
Mati is reportedly the first municipality to have set aside a portion of its forested area as a sanctuary for the national bird.
The PEF study reported the discovery of a nest holding a baby eaglet which local residents have christened as "Cabuaya." The eaglet’s parents have been named "Cabu" (father) and "Aya" (mother).
The PEF has reportedly sighted the Philippine eagle in the area since 1987.
The town of Mati, together with three adjoining municipalities, forms part of the Eastern Mindanao Corridor (EMC) where there have been sightings of the remaining population of the endangered giant raptor.
The species-rich EMC is considered one the few remaining large forested areas in the country. It has been the focus of conservation efforts by the PEF and other environmental groups such as the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund.
Efforts to save the Philippine eagle have been intensified after its population was estimated at only a little over 500 pairs, mostly in the forested areas of Mindanao, Samar, Leyte and parts of Northern Luzon.
The PEF’s Philippine Eagle Center in Barangay Malagos, Calinan district here houses at least 29 eagles bred in captivity. Two other eagles are found at the University of the Philippines campus in Los Baños, Laguna.