Authorities pursuing new leads in killing of Pamana the eagle

Pamana the eagle soars after her release. FILE PHOTO FROM PROVINCE OF DAVAO ORIENTAL FACEBOOK PAGE

Authorities have new leads as to who had shot dead a three-year-old female Philippine eagle named “Pamana,” an official of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) told a Senate hearing on Tuesday.

Theresa Mundita Lim, director of DENR’s Biodiversity Management Bureau, said that based on the last update of Regional Director Mark Sagada, chair of the Protected Area Management Board of Mt. Hamiguitan, “there are leads but it was not yet ready for release to the public.”

“So we’re still waiting for additional details so we can eventually work with the other stakeholders…,” Lim said during the hearing of the Senate committee on environment joint with the committees on agriculture, tourism and foreign relations.

At present, she said, the reward for those who can provide information and eventually pinpoint whoever was responsible for the killing of Pamana has now reached P500,000.

Pamana was already in advanced state of decomposition when she was found dead with a gunshot wound in her right chest at the at the Mount Hamiguitan Range in San Isidro, Davao Oriental last August 16.

READ: Released into wild, Philippine Eagle ‘Pamana’ shot dead

Unlike in Pamana’s case, however, authorities have no leads yet on the killing of another Philippine eagle, “Minalwang” two years after it was shot dead in Misamis Oriental province in 2013.

“We continue to work with the Philippine Eagle Foundation and the investigation of Minalwang so far has yielded no leads,” Lim said.

Jayson Ibanez of the Philippine Eagle Foundation said an investigation was immediately conducted to find out who had killed Minalwang but because of the remoteness of the site, he said the Philippine National Police and the DENR “had challenges finding a lead.”

“And eventually, the case just died naturally,” he said during the same hearing. Maila Ager/IDL

READ: PH eagle shot dead after attacking pet dog in Misamis Oriental—PAWB