ARENAS, RIO JANINA B.

                                                                                  ANG, FRANCIS
Eng 10 THY2                                                                                                         October 24, 2017

The Philippine Eagle as a Symbol

The usage of a certain animal as an icon of a country, or as a mascot of an academic

institution or a sports team are only a few ways of making that animal a symbol. It can be

postulated that an animal is used as a representation of an institution or an agency for the reason

that this certain animal has characteristics that the organization deemed fitting for their vision,

mission, goal, or the values that the organization upholds. This is one of the reasons why

biologically “fittest” animals or those that are successful in their ecological niche, especially

those on top of the food chain—primarily predators—are used as symbols in flags, logos, coat of

arms and other artifacts of a body of an organization. The first part of this paper explores the

Philippine Eagle as a symbol of the Philippines and an icon of various Philippine government

and non-government organizations and how the species is used as an icon or a symbol of an

association for that association to embody the animal’s certain characteristics; the second part

explores the reason why the American bald eagle stayed as a symbol in the Philippine

government rather than changing the bird into the Philippine eagle.

1. The Philippine Eagle in logos

The Philippine Eagle was proclaimed the national bird in the year 1995. The government

included some reasons for this proclamation. These reasons include: that the Philippine Eagle is

“the flagship species in the conservation of Philippine wildlife”; that the species is a national

treasure making it a source of national pride; it offers aesthetic, scientific, historical, and

educational values among others; and that its “uniqueness, strength, power, and love for
freedom, exemplifies the Filipino people” [emphasis added] (“Proclamation No. 615, s. 1995 |

GOVPH”). Harder, Labao, and Santos, in their study for the cost of the conservation of the

species, mentioned that the Philippine Eagle “symbolizes hope, power and strength” (84).

To date, only two government agencies use the Philippine Eagle in their logos. The  logo

of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas or the Central Bank of the Philippines “remains open [on the

right side], signifying freedom, openness, and readiness of the BSP, as represented by the

Philippine eagle, to soar and fly toward its goal” (“About the Bank”). The agency views the

Philippine Eagle, the national bird, as a “symbol of strength, clear vision and freedom” (“About

the Bank”). These, the agency states, are the qualities that they envision for as the central bank

(“About the Bank”). The second agency that utilizes the Philippine Eagle in their logo is the

Department of Transportation.

The eagle, our national bird, is large and striking, graceful in flight, and free, the

embodiment of what the country wants its transportation and communications to be

[emphasis added], big enough in scale and scope to transport the largest possible number

of people in comfort and ease to any point in the archipelago; the heights the eagle can

reach represent the optimum position for communications the greater the height, the more

areas and people it can serve (“The DOTr Logo.”).

One organization that uses the Philippine Eagle in their logo is The Fraternal Order of

EAGLES, the first Philippine-born fraternal socio-civic organization (“The Heart of Eagleism”).

It is not clear as to whether this organization is a branch of the Fraternal Order of Eagles

established in Seattle in the year 1898 or whether they are affiliated to the American organization

in any way, but their logos are almost identical—the only difference is that the bald eagle was

changed into the Philippine Eagle. Another non-government organization that uses the Philippine
Eagle as their logo is the Philippine Eagle Foundation (“Homepage - Philippine Eagle

Foundation .”). The Asian Raptor Research and Conservation Network has the silhouette of great

Asian raptors including the Philippine Eagle in their logo, and the 10th ARRCN Symposium has

the Philippine Eagle in the forefront of its logo (“Renewing People-Raptor Ties Through

Community Based Initiatives.”). The American Tackle Football Association of the Philippines

(ATFAP) uses the Philippine Eagle illustrated with the colors of the Philippine flag in their logo,

and the national team, Pilipinas Gilas (lit. Philippines Eagles) uses the species in their logo in the

same way (“American Tackle Football Association of the Philippines - ATFAP.” , “Pilipinas

Aguilas - National Tackle Football Team of the Philippines.”).

Greenberg and other researchers in their 1995 paper proposed that cultural icons—in  this

case, the Philippine Eagle—serve as concrete embodiment of the more abstract meanings and

values which help build an individual’s equanimity or composure (1222). According to Rank (as

cited in Greenberg et al 1222), the symbols or cultural icons are crucial because allegiance of an

individual could not be maintained without the physical artifacts that correspond to the “truth” of

the prevailing cultural ideology. The examples stated above demonstrates how this takes into

effect. Organizations choose logos or symbols that help them build a certain ideal from that icon

and this in turn makes the organization have a grasp of stability in what they want to achieve.

There must be a representation of an ideology for an organization to function well, or at least,

appear to be functioning according to the set values of that same organization. Just as the

allegiance of an individual remains because he sees a representation to the abstract values he

upholds, an organization will have the same commitment. It is to be noted, however, that it is not

only the logo or symbol that makes an organization operate, just as a sentimental object or an

object that is symbolized for something like a national flag does not control the overall
productivity of an individual. The logos just elicit an emotion associated with values that

originate from the element of a logo (an example would be the red part of the Philippine flag that

symbolizes bravery) or values that originate from the logo or symbol itself. A soldier would

perhaps feel more valour or courage after seeing a waving flag of his country in the same way

that the Department of Transportation as an organization would be more ambitious in making the

transportation and communications of the country “free” or “striking in flight”—just like how

the Philippine Eagle flies—when the agency is reminded of their logo; granted, of course, that

they know what each of the element of the agency’s logo stands for. In addition to this, taking a

local or endemic element of the country, the Philippine Eagle in this context, opens an

opportunity to explore the Filipino culture and evoke a sense of pride. As demonstrated in the

logos of the Fraternal Order of the EAGLES, that of the American Tackle Football Association

of the Philippines, and that of the national team for the American tackle football, the use of the

Philippine Eagle sets the organization apart, serving not just a symbol of freedom of flight, but

also an emblem natively and culturally exclusive for Filipinos.

2. The American bald eagle versus the Philippine Eagle

The Philippine government has used different animals in the logos of its main branches

and its agencies. In the republic’s coat of arms, which has been declared by the late President

Manuel Quezon in 1940, there are two animals seen: the American bald eagle on the lower left or

sinister side and the lion rampant on the lower right or dexter side, with their backgrounds blue

and red respectively (“Executive Order No. 313, s. 1940 | GOVPH”). The coat of arms is seen in

the Seal of the Office of the President and Vice President, and in the mace of the House of

Representatives. The bald eagle is considered one of the eleven symbols of authority (“Symbols
of Authority”). Although the coat of arms was officially granted February 12, 1998, almost three

years after the proclamation of the Philippine Eagle as the national bird, the American bald eagle

remained in the coat of arms. The proclamation might seem as the perfect opportunity to change

the eagle on the coat of arms to that of the endemic species found in the country, but the bald

eagle signifies the period when the Philippines was under the colonization of the Americans.

This is also the reason why the lion rampant on the right wasn’t change into a more localized

symbol of the country, like the tamaraw. The lion rampant signifies the period when the Spanish

ruled the Philippines.

While we might still be clinging to tradition as the reason why the bald eagle has

remained in logos and insignia of long established institutions and agencies of the Philippines,

and it might seem like borrowing culture as we borrow the American bald eagle as a symbol for

the Constitution and the ideals that the Philippine government stands for, the purpose of a

symbol as discussed in this paper still holds true. Our culture might not be consistent with the

foreign elements of the country’s coat of arms, the Philippine eagle and the tamaraw were not

utilized to symbolize the main branches of the government, but these symbols are placed in such

a way to still elicit feelings to the agency and the nation. The symbols on the dexter and sinister

sides of the coat of arms are a reminder of the oppression of the nations that once colonized the

Philippines. These colonial and foreign artifacts symbolize, quite ironically, the love for one’s

country and one’s nationalism.

       
Bibliography

“About the Bank.” Welcome to the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Website!, www. bsp.gov.ph/
about/over view.asp. Accessed 16 Oct. 2017.

“American Tackle Football Association of the Philippines - ATFAP.” Facebook - Log In or Sign
Up, www.facebook.com/pg/American-Tackle-Football-Association-of-the-Philippines-A
TFAP-1402897873259974/about/?ref=page_internal. Accessed 23 Oct. 2017

“Executive Order No. 313, s. 1940 | GOVPH.” Official Gazette of the Republic of the
Philippines, www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1940/12/23/executive-order-no-313-s-1940/.

Greenberg, Jeff, et al. “Evidence of a Terror Management Function of Cultural Icons: The
Effects of Mortality Salience on the Inappropriate Use of Cherished Cultural Symbols.”
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, vol. 21, no. 11, 1995, pp. 1221–1228.,
doi:10.1177/01461672952111010. Accessed 16 Oct. 2017.

Harder, Dieldre S. , et al. Willingness to pay for the conservation of endangered species in four
Asian countries. Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia, 2008.
 
“Homepage - Philippine Eagle Foundation - The official website of the Philippine Eagle
Foundation.” Homepage - Philippine Eagle Foundation - The official website of the
Philippine Eagle Foundation, www.philippineeaglefoundation.org/. Accessed 16 Oct.
2017.

“Pilipinas Aguilas - National Tackle Football Team of the Philippines.” Facebook - Log In or
Sign Up, www.facebook.com/pg/pilipinasaguilas/photos/?ref=page_internal. Accessed 23
Oct. 2017.

“Proclamation No. 615, s. 1995 | GOVPH.” Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines,
www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1995/07/04/proclamation-no-615-s-1995/. Accessed 16 Oct.
2017.

““Renewing People-Raptor Ties Through Community Based Initiatives.”.” ARRCN Homepage -

Philippine Eagle Foundation - The official website of the Philippine Eagle Foundation,
www.philippineeaglefoundation.org/arrcn-homepage. Accessed 23 Oct. 2017.

“Symbols of Authority.” Symbols of Authority - Senate of the Philippines, www. senate.gov.ph/

about/symbols%20of%20authority.asp. Accessed 16 Oct. 2017.

“The DOTr Logo.” DOTr, dotr.gov.ph/2014-09-02-05-01-41/2014-09-03-06-30-58.html.

Accessed 16 Oct. 2017.

“The Heart of Eagleism.” The Heart of Eagleism | The Fraternal Order of Eagles, tfoe-pe.org/
heart-eagleism. Accessed 16 Oct. 2017.
ARENAS, RIO JANINA B.                                                                                   ANG, FRANCIS
Eng 10 THY2                                                                                                         October 24, 2017

Craft Essay: The Philippine Eagle as a Symbol

I searched Philippine institutions or agencies that have an eagle as a logo. The main

agency that came to my mind is the Central bank of the Philippines that has recently changed

their logo into that of a Philippine Eagle. The next logo that came to my mind is the University

of the Philippines. Upon reading more into the history of the logo, I discovered that most of the

Philippine agencies, even government agencies, has the bald eagle in its insignia or coat of arms.

The main problem I have encountered is getting published sources. I have an overview of what I

want to do as a concept, but I couldn’t seem to find a good framework where I could start. After

finding sources, I still had to narrow down the journals into the ones that would fit the main idea

of my paper. In the end, only the paper by Greenberg et al had relevance to my paper.

Most of my sources are web pages, two of them are Facebook profiles. I was afraid that

my bibliography would not make my paper seem credible, but I had no access to any book,

except the one by Harder et al. I mainly visited sites to double check the logos, and to read more

about the logos (in BSP, DOTr, PEF, ARRCN, ATFAP, Pilipinas Agilas, and TFOE) and the

meanings behind those logos (explicitly mentioned in BSP and DOTr so I concentrated mainly

on those two).

I compared the different comments per section, and I revised if two out of three

commenters suggested that I revise the part, I revise it. The commenter that helped me the most

in revising my paper is Rashia Lubuguin.