THIS WEEK’S MILESTONES

June 10 to 16 June 11, 1901

The second Philippine Commission headed by William Howard Taft unified then Manila province and then Morong province to become Rizal province in honor of the national hero, Dr. Jose Rizal, by virtue of Act No. 137. Rizal province was then composed of 33 towns, 19 of which came from Manila and the remaining 14 towns from Morong. In November 1975, Rizal’s most progressive towns, namely Las Piñas, Muntinlupa, Taguig, Parañaque, Pateros, Makati, Mandaluyong, San Juan, Malabon, Navotas, Pasig and Marikina, were annexed to the area later named Metro Manila by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 824.

June 13, 1896

The Philippine Eagle was first spotted at the village of Bonga in Paranas, Samar province. English explorer and naturalist John Whitehead got the first specimenof the mighty “monkey-eating” eagle from his servant, Juan. It was named Pithecophaga jef

feryi, from the Greek word “pithecus” (ape or monkey) and “phagus” (eater of) because it was believed then that the great eagle exclusively preyed on monkeys. The “jefferyi” commemorates Jeffrey Whitehead, the father of John Whitehead. It was later discovered that the Philippine Eagle also eats civets, large snakes, monitor lizards and flying lemurs, among others. In 1978, the monkey-eating eagle was renamed the Philippine Eagle. In 1995, it was declared the national bird by then President Fidel Ramos under Proclamation No. 615.