UP Tacloban College received a taxidermied Philippine eagle from the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF)
09 May 2025
LOOK || On 7 May 2025 UP Tacloban College received a taxidermied Philippine eagle from the Philippine Eagle Foundation (PEF) whose story will inspire learning and action for wildlife and biodiversity conservation.
During the turnover ceremony held at UP Tacloban’s AS Conference Room, PEF Research Director Dr. Jayson C. Ibañez explained that the eagle was a juvenile electrocuted in 2018 by power lines in Mt. Sinaka, North Cotabato. But instead of symbolizing loss, the dead eagle became a catalyst for change as its death led to a groundbreaking partnership between PEF, conservation groups, and the Cotabato Electric Cooperative (COTELCO) for the first retrofitting of power lines in the area—a milestone in wildlife-safe infrastructure.
The turnover was preceded by a special lecture on global raptor conservation efforts by Dr. Munir Virani of the Mohammed Bin Zayed (MBZ) Raptor Conservation Fund. Dr. Virani discussed the ecological and socio-cultural significance of raptors—i.e. their role in maintaining balance in the natural world and as cultural symbols—and shared his experiences as a raptor conservation scientist. He underscored the importance of education, multi-sectoral cooperation, and sustainable livelihood practices in the work to conserve raptors like the Philippine eagle. The MBZ Raptor Conservation Fund is one of PEF’s key partners in the Philippines’ first ever eagle reintroduction program that released a pair of eagles, “Carlito” and “Uswag,” in Leyte Island in June 2024 and a second pair, Sinabadan and Kalatungan 1, on 8 May 2025.
PEF volunteers, students from the University of the Philippines Los Baños, faculty and students of UP Tacloban College and Eastern Visayas State University (EVSU), and representatives of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR), the Department of Health (DOH), the City Environment and Natural Resources Office (City ENRO), local civil society groups like Save Kankabato Advocacy and JJC Waraynon, and youth-led environmental organizations such as UP Envisage and UPTC Biological Society attended the special lecture and turnover ceremony.
