25/05/2026
UP Tacloban inaugurates Natural History Museum and Herbarium
UP Tacloban inaugurated its Natural History Museum and Herbarium at its new and permanent location in the Leyte Samar Heritage Center on 22 May 2026 as part of the celebration of UP Taclobanโs 53rd founding anniversary.
The museum and herbarium houses approximately 3,000 biological, botanical, zoological, geological, and other scientific specimens collected by the Division of Natural Sciences and Mathematics over the last 50 years. It is one of the few organized and accessioned natural history museums in Eastern Visayas.
Most of the specimens in the museum and herbarium are from student projects submitted over the years. Among the oldest specimens is Elephantopus mollis (Turutabako, Waray), an herbaceous perennial plant commonly found in tropical climates, collected by Rosalina Pacheco on 3 September 1976 in Tanauan, Leyte. Ms. Pacheco was a member of the pioneering class of the then newly established UP College Tacloban.
The museum exhibits are organized into major animal groupsโMollusca (snails and clams), Arthropoda (insects and spiders), Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fishes), Osteichthyes (bony fishes), Amphibia (frogs and salamanders), Reptilia (snakes, lizards, and turtles), Aves (birds), and Mammalia (mammals). The centerpiece of the exhibit is a specimen of the Philippine Eagle (Pithecophaga jefferyi, Critically Endangered, IUCN 2026) donated by the Philippine Eagle Foundation in May 2025.
Also featured in the museum are notable endemic and threatened species, such as the Philippine Duck (Anas luzonica, Vulnerable, IUCN 2026), Philippine Sailfin Lizard (Hydrosaurus pustulatus, Vulnerable, IUCN 2026), Samar Water Monitor (Varanus samarensis, Vulnerable, IUCN 2026), Philippine Giant Clam (Tridacna gigas, Critically Endangered, IUCN 2026), Philippine Deer (Rusa marianna, Vulnerable, IUCN 2026), and Visayan Warty Pig (Sus philippensis, Vulnerable, IUCN 2026).
According to Assistant Professor Jay Torrefiel, who is currently faculty-in-charge of the facility, the UP Tacloban Natural History Museum and Herbarium addresses the need for an institutional repository dedicated to the preservation, study, and exhibition of Eastern Visayasโ natural heritage. It supports students, educators, researchers, and partner institutions by providing valuable reference materials for instruction, taxonomy, biodiversity assessment, ecological research, environmental monitoring, and conservation planning. The museum also plays an important role in documenting endemic, native, rare, and threatened species, contributing to regional conservation initiatives.
โBy preserving plants, animals, rocks, and other records of life, the museum and herbarium helps us understand and protect the regionโs remarkable biodiversity. It also reminds us that conservation begins with knowing what we have, valuing it, and keeping it for the next generation,โ Torrefiel said.
In her message during the inauguration of the facility, Dean Patricia B. Arinto noted that โIt is especially fitting that the museum and herbarium are now housed at the Leyte Samar Heritage Center, the universityโs principal platform for culture and heritage studies in Eastern Visayas. Locating the museum here affirms an important insight: that culture and ecology are deeply interconnected, and that understanding our region requires us to study not only its histories and traditions, but also its landscapes, biodiversity, and environmental realities. In this way, the Leyte Samar Heritage Center becomes a space where scientific research, cultural memory, public humanities, and environmental stewardship can meaningfully converge.โ
The museum and herbariumโs inauguration followed Asst. Prof. Torrefielโs professorial chair lecture titled โDocumenting a Floristic Crisis: Threatened Vascular Plants of Samar Island, Philippines.โ Torrefiel holds the Cornelio A. Manuel, Jr. Professorial Chair in AY 2025-2026.
Coincidentally, the professorial chair lecture and the inauguration of the UP Tacloban Natural History Museum and Herbarium took place on the United Nationsโ International Day for Biological Diversity.
