September 30, 2021 — A brighter future for  liver disease management  is set   in the Philippines as the alliance between Italy and the Philippines  grows stronger. On August 18, UP Manila and the Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Health Research and Development (DOST-PCHRD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with an Italian Liver Foundation – Fondazione Italiana Fegato (FIF) – for  a joint venture on liver research, capacity building, and other initiatives to strengthen the fight  against liver diseases in the Philippines.

The agreement was signed by FIF President Decio Ripandelli, PCHRD Executive Director Dr. Jaime Montoya, and UP Manila Chancellor Carmencita Padilla, and  witnessed by DOST Sec. Fortunato Dela Pena, FIF’s Professor Claudio Tiribelli, and UP Manila National Institute of Health Exec. Director Dr. Eva Cutiongco de la Paz.

Sec. Dela Pena stressed the importance of continuing previous health endeavors against other diseases in these crucial times. According to the secretary, the COVID-19 pandemic had  wreaked havoc on the global health community that  put non-COVID patients at greater risk for being taken out from the priority line. 

Dr. Decio Ripandelli, resident of Italian Liver Foundation, cited the alignment of DOST and FIF’s several strategic points such as the significance of elementary education in hepatology. Alongside this, he mentioned the growing problem of child obesity in the Philippines which, according to him, may be   linked to  liver diseases. He also stressed the importance of  promoting  translational research for the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of liver diseases, as well as training assistance and establishment of liver research facilities in both the national and international arena.

Building a liver network, which is going to be the first in Southeast Asia, is also eyed to be one of the strategies to enhance the current tripartite collaboration among  the partner institutions. Ripandelli, moreover, sees this MOU as an avenue to train more Filipino scientists in Italy who will be going back to the Philippines to  enhance the science of hepatology in the country. As of now, the partnership has already produced four fellow scholars, yet Ripandelli encourages everyone to “do better” and the  signing of the new MOU “aims at  doing better”.

Chancellor Carmencita Padilla recounted  the beginning of the DOST-FIF collaboration in 2019 and expressed feeling honored to be a part of the rekindled cooperation this year. According to the chancellor, UP Manila – both its local and international counterpart in Sicily – shares mandates with DOST in leading clinical researches for better health outcomes in the prevention and cure of liver diseases in the Philippines, which are among the leading causes of death in the country. The alliances, according to her, will  aid efforts in liver research and patient care at the  UP Manila- PGH which were primarily dashed by the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. The chancellor looks forward to the opportunities that will arise for the Philippines in this alliance – scholarships, trainings, conferences, and exchange of junior and senior scientists among others. She also believes that it will serve as the backbone for the establishment of the National Liver Research Program which is  vital for the envisioned liver network in the Philippines.

Dr. Montoya, talked about the pressing issue of hepatitis within the public health realm in the country. The disease has types A to G, yet public knowledge and awareness about  it remains nil. Few get vaccinated, diagnosed, and treated for liver diseases. Public policies are also lacking due to insufficient recognition  by  legislators. Dr. Montoya  sees the beginning of the alliance as an opportunity to spread correct public information, extinguish stigma, and encourage the public to take appropriate measures for liver care and cure. He expressed  optimism about the dream to establish a liver laboratory in the Philippines and looks forward to Italy and Philippines having mutual benefits from the understanding.

Minister and Consul Nina Padilla Cainglet, Deputy Permanent Representative to Rome-Based Agencies Philippine Embassy in Rome, shared her appreciation to Fondazione Italiana Fegato for extending its expertise to the Philippines and helping conceptualize the national liver research program and the liver network. She  lauded the DOST-PCHRD for its scientific and technological leadership in the country, and UP Manila for its excellence in health science education and research.

Minister Cainglet views this alliance as an epitome of public health service initiative for healthier Filipino lives that will also benefit  the international community. The MOU is a significant endeavor to strengthen bilateral relations between the Philippines and Italy, and Minister Cainglet aspires to even have further multilateral relations in the future guided by foreign diplomacy policies.

Francis Nicole G. Maga

Featured in UP Manila Healthscape Special COVID-19 Issue No. 31 (Sept. 2021)