The year 2020 was challenging and unprecedented like no other for the world and for the Philippines due to the COVID-19 pandemic. UP Manila and the Philippine General Hospital put their collective resources at the behest of the nation to continue serving the health needs of the Filipinos with greater resolve and devotion through its academic, research, and public service functions.

Following are the highlights on how the university responded swiftly and comprehensively to the crisis using a science-based approach and harnessing its physical resources and the expertise and commitment of its faculty, staff, students, and alumni. Truly, bayanihan and solidarity at their best!

 First Quarter 

The UP-PGH Bayanihan Na! Operations Center (BNOC) was launched on March 30 that jibed with the opening of the PGH as a COVID referral hospital and the National Institutes of Health as a COVID Testing Center. With hotline number 155-200, the BNOC is manned 24/7 by trained staff and student and alumni volunteers who answer patient queries and coordinate donations. Since then, it has evolved into the Online Consultation and Registration Appointment (OCRA) for PGH outpatients.

In line with this designation, the PGH Crisis Management Team organized a COVID Transfer Command Center to facilitate the ingress and egress of patients and an Information Education Committee to disseminate advisories, 2020 in Review: Service for the Filipinos amid the COVID-19 pandemic reminders, and appeals inside and outside PGH. Wards were re-engineered and re-designed to increase safety measures. The healthcare workers were provided transportation, sanctuaries, spiritual and psychosocial support, and safety guidelines. Meanwhile, the NIH tested the PGH patients as well as those of 29 other hospitals and community quarantine centers within the catchment area of PGH for the coronavirus.

The UP Manila community adapted quickly to the virtual environment. When the university suspended classes and patient interactions, the faculty and students and most of the university’s staff transitioned to work and study from home. The faculty and students became more acquainted with online and remote learning and exercised flexibility in adapting to blended learning methods.

While pushing forward academically, its colleges also led initiatives to help members cope with the difficulties such as offering classrooms as temporary shelter for the frontliners, fund drives, health education materials, teleconsultations, physical activity recommendations, webinars, and policy recommendations. Its students, sororities, and fraternities also engaged in volunteer work and initiated calls for assistance.

 Second Quarter 

The university’s experts were actively involved In the Inter-Agency Task Force and provided crucial inputs to guide the government. Its scientists and researchers took advantage of technology and focused efforts on understanding the virus, identifying treatments, conducting studies, and inventing and innovating tools to alleviate the effects of the pandemic. Among the notable technologies were the GenAmplify™ COVID-19 rRT-PCR Detection Kit; OstreaVent II; Mechanical Ambu Bag Insufflator; Ginhawa Ventilator; SIBOL innovations such as the RxBox-Telemetry, SIBOL Telepresence, Powered Air-Purifying Respirator, SaniPod, E-Steth Project, and Ultraviolet Irradiation Cabinet; UP Manila Bayanihan Na! Employee Symptoms Tracking System (BESTS); and PGH Bayanihan Center Current Inventory Levels and Donations Tracker.

 Third Quarter 

While responding to the pandemic, matters beyond COVID were still given attention. UP Manila held its first virtual commencement exercises of 884 graduates who “marched” via YouTube live stream on September 6. Four days later, it was the turn of 934 first-year students to be welcomed in the first virtual Opening Ceremony held via Facebook.

The university, its faculty, and students received major recognition inside and outside the country. UP retained its rank in the top 500 world university rankings and leads in ASEAN in terms of global research influence; Dean Shiela Bonito and Prof. Roderick Salenga were awarded by PRC as the 2020 Outstanding Professionals in the field of Nursing and Pharmacy, respectively; Dr. Tiffany Uy, who gained the highest ever recorded grade in UP since World War II, graduated magna cum laude and UPCM Class Valedictorian.

 Fourth Quarter 

Dr. Jomel Lapides topped the November 2020 Physician Licensure Examination, with seven more UPCM graduates in the Top 10. A virtual commemoration of UP Manila’s 41st year as Health Sciences Center was held which recognized 21 retirees, 103 service awardees, and 10 Gawad Chancellor awardees.

Chancellor Carmencita Padilla was reappointed for a third term with a vision of UP Manila as the National Center of Health Research and Development for the Filipinos through Distinctive Excellence in Academics and Scholarship, Research and Discovery for National Relevance and Global Competitiveness, and Heightened Individual and Institutional Extension Services. UP Manila top management officials, deans, and directors trained in a two-day Zoom workshop on sustainable leadership for the next three years cognizant of the reeling effects of the pandemic and of other future crises.

Dr. Charlotte Chiong and Dr. Ramon Gustilo were conferred NAST awards for outstanding scientific contributions. Dr. Raul Destura, Dr. Cleotilde Hidalgo-How, and Dr. Joselito Chavez were among Asia’s Top 100 scientists. In the 2020 Science and Technology Week, UP Manila’s Code for Responsible Conduct of Research was launched to ensure that researchers and their work do not fall short of the strictest standards. Themed “AGAP AGHAM: Responding to the Pandemic through Research,” the event showcased to industry and government partners the best herbal, biomedical, and COVID-19 technologies.

Despite the uncertainties and constraints the pandemic has wrought, UP Manila capped the year by celebrating Christmas virtually for the first time. Instead of the annual lantern parade, the Pasko sa UP Manila was marked with video presentations by the colleges and units and games and raffles held online. Through the past 12 months, UP Manila has demonstrated leadership, resourcefulness, resilience, and fortitude. Its members mourn and remember the lives lost fighting the virus, including its healthcare workers who risked life and limb to save others.

The constituents look forward to a brighter and stronger 2021 with more enlightenment and wisdom and through the experiences and lessons gained in responding and managing the effects of the pandemic.

Anne Marie Alto and Cynthia Villamor
Featured in UP Manila Healthscape (Special COVID-19 Issue No. 21, December 2020)