Aircraft giant Boeing is once again taking some of the Philippines’ most prized eagles under its wing, thanks to another $80,000 in funding.
That amount represents the American plane-maker’s latest commitment to the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF), an organization it has been partnering with since 2023, and would help bankroll the construction of new aviaries as well as conservation programs.
PEF executive director Dennis Salvador told Biz Buzz that part of the funding would go toward additional enclosures at the foundation’s natural breeding sanctuary at the foot of Mount Apo in Davao City.
A separate flight aviary will be built to train birds hatched at the sanctuary, Salvador said.
Another portion of the $80,000 will support initiatives under PEF’s conservation academy.
Salvador said that Boeing’s relationship with the foundation dates back to 2023, after company representatives encountered Philippine eagles in Singapore and expressed interest in supporting their conservation.
Boeing had adopted two Philippine eagles-Makisig and Hiraya-before expanding to support conservation work in the Philippines. Salvador said Boeing has provided funding every year since then and is now among the foundation’s biggest corporate supporters.
The latest commitment came after Boeing Southeast Asia president Travis Sullivan met with PEF officials on Aug. 19 to discuss follow-through programs.
As a company best known for helping people take to the skies, Boeing’s latest Philippine investment ensures the country’s national bird can keep doing the same. -Logan Kal-El M. Zapanta
Campaign donors, beware?
The general elections in the Philippines may still be about two years away, but potential campaign donors from the private sector are already taking serious note of the case involving Sen. Rodante Marcoleta.
To recall, the Office of the Ombudsman last June charged Marcoleta with plunder for over P75 million in undeclared contributions to his ultimately successful campaign for a Senate seat in 2025.
Marcoleta was also charged with three counts of violating Presidential Decree No. 46, which prohibits public officers from accepting gifts while in office.
Charged with him are former Quezon City congressman Mike Defensor and private campaign donors Joseph Espiritu and Aristotle Viray.
And this is where the concerns are coming from, as a number of potential donors-among them the country’s richest individuals and top executives-now fear that donating to an election campaign could get them embroiled in unexpected legal trouble.
Biz Buzz sources said the liability of private citizens cannot rest solely on their having dealt with a public official -even if they get accused of wrongdoing-especially if deeds of donation are signed and donor’s taxes are paid.
The current case, however, begs the question: Was this merely a campaign donation, or was it given as part of a corrupt scheme?
The answer cannot be presumed. It must ultimately be proven.
Even then, the potential trouble down the road may just be too much of a risk for well-meaning private donors.
Given that, will the Marcoleta case change the complexion of the 2028 campaign in that candidates may find it more difficult to get donations? Abangan! -Tina Arceo-Dumlao
Lim’s stressful SEC debut
Francis Lim has survived his first year as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). His verdict?
‘Both exciting and stressful,’ Lim told reporters when asked to sum up his first year at the corporate regulator.
The stress, he said, came partly from wanting to accelerate the transformation of the Philippine capital market. Not everyone welcomed the changes, either.
‘There’s a lot of positive comments about what we’ve done. Of course, as usual in a democracy, there’s always some resistance,’ Lim said.
Still, the SEC chair appears pleased with what his team has accomplished, crediting his fellow commissioners for helping push through the regulator’s reform agenda.
And it has been a busy first year.
The SEC imposed stricter processing timelines and a ‘deemed approved’ policy for applications not acted upon beyond prescribed periods.
It also slashed fees for corporate document requests, resulting in nearly P263 million in discounts as of July.
On the capital-market side, Lim’s first year saw the rollout of a five-year shelf registration framework, tiered minimum public ownership requirements, expanded rules for real estate investment trusts, Sukuk regulations and Southeast Asia’s first Green Equity Guidelines.
There is little sign the workload-or the stress-is easing.